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lotusblossom

(48 posts)

65. I was a COBOL programmer for 25 years

Fri Mar 28, 2025, 01:59 PM

Friday

This is insanity!! As a COBOL programmer most of my professional career, it is mind-boggling that they think they could just replace the huge systems and files. It would take years to even do the design of the changes and no guarantees that if they try and replace with Java based code that it could even handle the huge volume of data that those new databases would be required to use. Unless things have changed drastically since I retired 9 years ago, there is no way this could work. That is why legacy systems still exist today. They handle the back end code and file systems for government, banks, insurance, and many other large systems. Java is for front-end systems that connect to the back-end code and files. And it sounds like they aren't even planning on testing this before it goes live with that ridiculous timeframe. This is a recipe for disaster.

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WIRED: DOGE Plans to Rebuild SSA Codebase In Months, Risking Benefits and System Collapse [View all] Dennis Donovan Friday OP

Kick SheltieLover Friday #1

Do you know who Grace M. Hopper, USN is? If you don't, you have no idea what Cobol is and what it will take to convert. usaf-vet Friday #81

I do not know of her, but I am familiar somewhat with Cobol. SheltieLover Friday #82

This message was self-deleted by its author usaf-vet Friday #92

Ty for sharing! SheltieLover Friday #93

I moved the entire post to The Way Forward forum. Hopefully, it gets the exposure there. usaf-vet Friday #94

TY for sharing. SheltieLover Friday #95

Nvidia chips will be used? flamingdem Friday #84

Isn't she the one who just about invented the whole cobol software system the navy... brush Friday #104

This is becoming worser and worser🫣 LaRaven Friday #2

Post removed Post removed Friday #34

No, because millions of dead 150-year-olds PatSeg Friday #37

Post removed Post removed Friday #39

What is your point? Walleye Friday #47

Message auto-removed Name removed Friday #53

I missed his/her answer PatSeg Friday #79

I'm deeply concerned that your time may be wasted here. dchill Friday #54

This message was self-deleted by its author dchill Friday #55

OMG - I am a Software Developer on a similar project TBA Friday #3

I worked at a huge university that employed a huge IT staff for years to upgrade a system Demovictory9 Friday #9

I agree. Replacing a huge, complicated system takes years, not months. patphil Friday #13

I Am a Data Architect - You gave me the biggest and longest laugh of the week!! hotellanai1986 Friday #62

Java... ultralite001 Friday #86

"...a more modern replacement like Java..." Cool kids don't use Java. /nt thought crime Friday #87

Hacker's Delight... ultralite001 Friday #91

Well it is 'more modern' and there's orders of magnitude more Java programmers and large systems currently in use AZJonnie Saturday #131

Same here... reACTIONary Friday #51

COBOL spaghetti code FPGramma Friday #67

I worked on a Y2K project for date conversions Skittles Friday #76

Move fast and break things dalton99a Friday #4

What even is the purpose of rewriting the codebase? AmericaUnderSiege Friday #5

To get it off old computers hard to hack computers that have been working just fine and processing.. uponit7771 Friday #8

Deliberate enshittification, in other words. nt AmericaUnderSiege Friday #10

Actually there are good reasons to update the system Wiz Imp Friday #24

Elon Musk probably thinks he can do it personally. AmericaUnderSiege Friday #25

The people who can program in COBOL are old, very old dsc Friday #46

We're not all dead yet Klondike Kat Friday #64

My brother did COBOL Be The Light Friday #96

Hey, wait a minute. I'm not that old (71) and I know people younger than I that can program and support COBOL. camartinwv Saturday #114

The SSA would have kept the old system up as Job 1 priority. Bengus81 Friday #73

Unstable? The hardware the system is currently running on is the most stable there on the market. sinkingfeeling Friday #101

From the transcript of a Congressional hearing in 2016: Wiz Imp Friday #107

As a 30 year IBM mainframe specialist and 15 years as a mainframe system programmer, sinkingfeeling Friday #108

This has nothing to do with hardware. Wiz Imp Friday #109

Just sayin', in all my years (over 45) of working with COBOL programs and operating systens, I've never heard of a sinkingfeeling Saturday #110

Having worked in state Government for about 35 years on Federal programs Wiz Imp Saturday #120

I don't want to continue this discussion forever, but can you tell me which 'modern' systems don't sinkingfeeling Saturday #121

A bigger concern might be staffing Ruby the Liberal Saturday #111

I'm available for a very large fee! Used to be pretty good with DB2, COBOL, CICS, and sinkingfeeling Saturday #112

COBOL is easy to program. DiamondShark Saturday #119

True IF you have experts doing the update instead of hackers, and they give a SHIT Bengus81 Sunday #138

Trojan horses and viruses come to mind... live love laugh Friday #58

To introduce them, maybe. AmericaUnderSiege Friday #61

We're fucked orangecrush Friday #6

And it's probably being "written" by Bettie Friday #7

Always keeping us on edge! Hope22 Friday #11

They should be able to do this in parallel Tickle Friday #12

I think the word "correctly" is the keyword here. patphil Friday #14

One of my first managers taught me the maxim: Buns_of_Fire Friday #38

Hell the whole fucking Musk plan is to do it incorrectly. Bengus81 Friday #72

Where are they going to get their test database of 73 million records? sinkingfeeling Friday #102

"Test?" What is this "test" thing you speak of? nt Buns_of_Fire Friday #105

Potentially a source at least for some tasks would be to use a copy of the existing one AZJonnie Saturday #130

Tread lightly Doge boyz. Evolve Dammit Friday #15

JFC. Is this legal? MontanaMama Friday #16

I don't think we have independent law enforcement anymore AZProgressive Friday #20

How many more people must die because of shit Musk and co are doing?! sakabatou Friday #17

A lot will die intrepidity Saturday #125

No doubt they'll include hard-to-detect back doors so it can be monitored and controlled from the outside SpankMe Friday #18

The hacker kids can set up back door accounts to rip off SS? Irish_Dem Friday #32

The hacker kids can set up back door accounts to rip off SS? Irish_Dem Friday #33

Breaking what works. "Fixing" what isn't broken IronLionZion Friday #19

+1. Elon wants to break it so he alone can fix it - for billions of dollars in fees and future contracts dalton99a Friday #21

Destroy creon Friday #22

They probably need to adapt it so Big Balls can funnel our information to criminals faster. Vinca Friday #23

Under what contract? When did this go to bid? Bluetus Friday #26

Contract? We don't need no... reACTIONary Friday #57

This is guaranteed to be a disaster. Wiz Imp Friday #27

This project is clearly intended to fail. Girard442 Friday #28

Winging it is not a strategy. C_U_L8R Friday #29

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Ocelot II Friday #30

If everyone who knew COBOL was already dead Klondike Kat Friday #68

True. But I'm guessing that a lot of COBOL experts are pretty old. Ocelot II Friday #69

That's what Musk wants to use his AI for. sinkingfeeling Friday #103

But there are still books on COBOL programming Retrograde Saturday #137

I know COBOL and I ain't dead. camartinwv Saturday #115

How can this take place unilaterally without any input from our elected Representatives? jalan48 Friday #31

It's easy to rewrite it after you eliminate the 100M dead people and all those over 62! Wonder Why Friday #35

Building software quickly, isn't the problem.... Happy Hoosier Friday #36

He'll have his kiddie hackers generate code with AI HipChick Friday #85

FA and touch my SS & find out you fu*king little Nazis FAFO NotHardly Friday #40

I hope somebody manages to save the existing system. Susan Calvin Friday #41

Already sent to my maga congresscritter. It's daily, now. lindysalsagal Friday #42

I wouldn't trust Elon Musk to build, much less rebuild anything. Initech Friday #43

It can't be said too often dflprincess Friday #44

Great idea -- I did that a month ago, just in case. subterranean Friday #78

My guess, they will host it on Amazon and be client server vs old reliable big iron. LiberalArkie Friday #45

Social Security is not broken. If a thing is not broken, don't try and fix it. Go back to your own damn country Walleye Friday #48

Musk is doomed to fail! Person of Interest Friday #49

He will fail, but he won't suffer the consequences, we will. He will be fine. Walleye Friday #50

Sad but true. Person of Interest Friday #90

That's the point...to fail, so they can claim it doesn't work New Breed Leader Saturday #118

If this happens, we're screwed. Joinfortmill Friday #52

Genius is as genius does. dchill Friday #56

I can't even imagine how badly they'd screw it all up. MineralMan Friday #59

Let's break it down though. Did a code update need to happen, JCMach1 Friday #60

In theory they'd have the old system on standby to switch back to if the new didn't work Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Friday #63

I was a COBOL programmer for 25 years lotusblossom Friday #65

To back you up ... sinkingfeeling Friday #106

"Gee folks, we don't know what happened but you won't get a check this month" louis-t Friday #66

Yep....fuck it all up so people will no longer get a deposit Bengus81 Friday #70

They're putting it on Java? jmowreader Friday #71

Sick evil fuckers, fucking up everything intentionally. SamKnause Friday #74

I asked a banker I know if the banking and financial industries have some kind of forbearance program for when dobleremolque Friday #75

These doge hacks can't even build a proper website C_U_L8R Friday #77

There is so much wrong with that, the last of which is that any new system can take years to properly debug, Martin68 Friday #80

"The so-called Department of Government Efficiency" - Emphasis on "so-called" and none on "efficiency." n/t Beartracks Friday #83

Cruelty is a feature. Always remember that. sakabatou Friday #88

IF 68 million plus seniors don't get a check................then we are at war................ turbinetree Friday #89

At my last job I spent the last couple of years replacing an old system. paulkienitz Friday #97

Oh wait, I know... paulkienitz Friday #98

I learned COBAL in the late 70's and SSA was recruiting COBAL programmers back then to update the system. rickford66 Friday #99

Another disaster Meowmee Friday #100

Rule #1: Know your backout plan before touching ONE LINE Buns_of_Fire Saturday #113

The intention is not to rebuild a system to service SSA clients. It is going to be built to siphon money into Musk's Ford_Prefect Saturday #116

The intention is to break it New Breed Leader Saturday #117

Yes but the HOW it is broken means Musk steals more money while it runs into the ground. Ford_Prefect Saturday #122

Yep...What are we gonna do? They will blame it on Democrats, of course. But what will we do? Eliot Rosewater Saturday #127

Nine years by one estimate. moondust Saturday #123

On a basic level, COBOL is better than Java for big math processing. Ursus Rex Saturday #124

This is how they break it and take it. Prepare now to lose your SS. Eliot Rosewater Saturday #126

They'll break it, then it will be... LudwigPastorius Saturday #128

Exactly. I worry that our collective reaction will not be strong enough if you know what I mean Eliot Rosewater Saturday #129

MAGA lawmakers are already blaming Dems New Breed Leader Saturday #134

When they end it, steal it, they will say it is Dems fault for mishandling it. Eliot Rosewater Saturday #136

Prepare how, exactly? New Breed Leader Saturday #132

Talking about our REACTION to the nazis...what are WE prepared to do? Eliot Rosewater Saturday #135

I've gone back to work part time Kaleva Sunday #139

Rep. Don Beyer New Breed Leader Saturday #133