Re: COBOL to Java conversion

On Tue, 30 Oct 2007 22:36:38 GMT, "William M. Klein" <wmklein@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

"Robert" <no@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:jptei3pnp3049g53o3i0o9udcjpnc691mp@xxxxxxxxxx
On Tue, 30 Oct 2007 07:30:25 -0700, HansJ <hjigel@xxxxxx> wrote:

<snip>
As a Cobol contractor who has to find a new project every 6-12 months, I've
found demand
(and pay) for Cobol contractors is medium. It's all maintenance, no new
development.

Robert,
<JOKING>
You should move to the IBM mainframe. Lots of new development in COBOL being
done there (XML, CICS SOA, etc)

I hate to admit it, but you're right.

There are two kinds of Unix/Cobol shops. One kind is full of resentful 'former'
mainframers who zealous enforce their1980s standard, spend half their time bashing new
technologies and the other half planning their retirements. Crews on sinking ships don't
care about development, their only concern is survival. The other kind of shop is full of
C programmers 'stuck' with maintaining old Cobol. When a program requires significant
change, they rewrite it in C or write the enhancement as a callable C function.

For instance, AxMDOCS ICM is a huge system that does billing, customer service, etc. for
most phone companies worldwide. It was originally, in the early '90s, written in Cobol and
Powerbuilder. For 15 years the company has been replacing the UI with Java, and the Cobol
back end with C. The back end is now more then 60% C/C++. I don't know how many millions
of lines of code it has, but I know compiling everything on a multi-CPU machine takes 18
hours. Compiling one program takes less than a second. And yes, the make file runs
parallel compilations.

(a little more seriously)
Of course, as I have previously indicated, I think (from limited input) that
most of this is done by in-house employees and NOT contractors.

Generally true. In some big companies, employees are fully occupied with meetings,
production support and many days off. They don't have time for development projects longer
than a few hours. They find time for sexy new technologies such as XML and SOA (Same Old
Architecture); they use contractors for routine enhancements, especially on Cobol
programs.

Development is sometimes outsourced, but those projects don't use Cobol. They use whatever
the CIO read was hot in an airline magazine.

A warning to prospective contractors: you MUST be mobile. If you're rooted to one city by
a house, spouse or family, get a 'perm' job, don't try to be a contractor. If you do,
here's what will happen. The first project will be in your home city. No problem. The
second will be 50 miles away. A long commute, but doable. The third will be 300-500 miles
away. For the first month, you'll go home every weekend. For the second month, you'll go
home every other weekend. By the fourth month, you'll hate the job, resent the spouse or
think this is no way to live. You'll spend a lot of time looking for a contract back home.
When you can't find one, you'll feel trapped. Then you'll take a Robert Half job paying
$30/hr. I've seen it happen dozens of times. I never made that mistake; I AM mobile.

Also, don't believe anything the pimp (contracting company) tells you, especially the
project duration. He simply doesn't know. That's determined by the client. The pimp will
usually say 'six months with possible extensions.' Translation: between two months and
five years. The PM (project manager) won't say either, because the legal department told
him to make no verbal commitments. To find out, ask the team lead for the Go Live date. If
there isn't one, it's not a bona fide project. They might want a sacrificial goat for the
next round of downsizing; they might want a tester or production support person; there
might even be a kickback scam going on. I've seen all three. In any case, they don't need
a developer, so you won't be happy.

When you are on a project, you're competing with the other contractors for a seat on the
NEXT project, if any. Volunteer for crappy tasks no one else wants to do, especially those
involving process (methodology). Put yourself in the PM's place. Managers think
development is ALL about process. They think code monkeys can be hired from outside;
workers versed in the company's process are worth keeping.
.

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