Job Desperation?

Wayne Gaylard

Well, I come from an even less developed part of Africa than you. Online classifieds are definitely not the norm in this place. Print is still king in the darkest reaches. :-D

...and I have extensive experience writing computer code, including OIC, BTW, BRB, IMHO, LMAO, ROFL, TTYL.....

Mario Luis

I hear there are some pretty well paying jobs for cobol developers as there are a few companies that haven't upgraded systems and the language is scarce. I dunno which is worse, that you say the ad is recent or that I'm familiar with the technologies except cobol.

Reelix

Pascal, Delphi 5, C++, AND VB? :^) Pretty wide skill base you have there!

-= Reelix =-

realJSOP

Welcome to the early 1990's... PC's don't need "fixing" anymore. You just throw the broken one away and run down to McDonald's and order one with your Happy Meal.

".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
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You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997

Mario Luis

Pascal,Delphi pre .Net days C++ tertiary education and six month arb solo development job VB - book distribution platform on Psion teklogix devices ( VB on Windows CE with SQLCE ) I've been around ;P *edit* hmmm that was probably vb.net soz

Gregory Gadow

If you want a real scarey image, Google "visual cobol." One new version operates as an extension to Visual Studio 2010. Yes, my friend: not only are people still USING COBOL, they are still creating development platforms for it. :~

Ennis Ray Lynch Jr

Recruiters still call about Vb6 and Access and to be honest, C++ and HTML are highly relevant techs. I am surprised how many .NET Web Architects aren't familiar with HTML or Javascript. Embarrassing really.

Need custom software developed? I do custom programming based primarily on MS tools with an emphasis on C# development and consulting. I also do Android Programming as I find it a refreshing break from the MS. "And they, since they Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs" -- Robert Frost

Mario Luis

Dear Lord, I think the closest I got to cobol was DBASEIII and that luckily was just reading the text file db structure/content and importing it into normalised sql.

Pete OHanlon

And you complain about others having a go at your language of choice. Just the tiniest bit hypocritical there.

Forgive your enemies - it messes with their heads

My blog | My articles | MoXAML PowerToys | Mole 2010 - debugging made easier - my favourite utility

wizardzz

I want to clarify: That was not me. I am not looking for

Reelix wrote:

enjoyable job

as that is an oxymoron that I know does not exist.

Craigslist Troll: litaly@comcast.net "I have a theory that the truth is never told during the nine-to-five hours. " — Hunter S. Thompson

thrakazog

Reelix wrote:

Turbo pascal

And here I didn't think that existed outside my highschool programming classes. Been 16 years since I've had the pleasure of working with Turbo Pascal.

Dan Neely

You can use that to meld .net for new features into the legacy apps you can't put out of your misery...

3x12=36 2x12=24 1x12=12 0x12=18

Gregory Gadow

I am not "having a go" at anyone's choice of language. That doesn't make it any less astonishing that a programming language as old as COBOL is not only still around but still being actively developed.

Gregory Gadow

I understand that there is an awful lot of legacy code out there; I got my current job in 1996 by being the only person interviewed who would admit to knowing COBOL (at that time, my company actually had an IBM minicomputer running JCL and using batched RM-COBOL applets over a non-relational database. I still have nightmares.) I just find it amazing that COBOL is still around. The financial industry (where I work) was forced by federal regulation to address the Y2K problem; most firms abandoned the old COBOL programs and upgraded to newer systems. It always surprises me that there is still enough of the codebase still in use to merit continued development of COBOL programming platforms.

Pete OHanlon

There's a lot more COBOL code around than VB code. A lot of the worlds largest institutions still have a load of legacy code. Why is it surprising that they would want to be supported?

Forgive your enemies - it messes with their heads

My blog | My articles | MoXAML PowerToys | Mole 2010 - debugging made easier - my favourite utility

Rob Grainger

I beg to differ. 1. Pascal and Delphi are both variants of Pascal, Delphi adding OO extensions. 2. C++ is an extension of C, adding OO extensions 3. VB is an extension of BASIC, with extensions I'd hesitate to call OO (until VB.NET) So in all 3 cases you're looking at a procedural language extended with OO functionality. To me, a wide skill base should cover at least one other paradigm: functional (LISP, ...), logical (PROLOG) or really object-oriented (Smalltalk) (I've tried to keep to languages available at the time). Switching paradigm has a more profound effect on your approach to programming, and is something I cannot recommend highly enough.

Albert Holguin

PC's are pretty cheap nowadays... but I still see people hanging on to old technology like it was worth a million bucks! :doh:

Gary Wheeler

Sounds like you're still reacting a bit to Maunder's earlier riposte[^] :).

Software Zen: delete this;

Gary Wheeler

Ennis Ray Lynch, Jr. wrote:

.NET Web Architects aren't familiar with HTML or Javascript

Isn't that like a bricklayer that's never heard of mortar? A house painter that doesn't use paint? A lawyer who deals honestly with his clients? (you get the idea)

Software Zen: delete this;

Simon_Whale

true but sadly I use to work with someone who developed in Java and couldn't get to grips with OO with .net

Lobster Thermidor aux crevettes with a Mornay sauce, served in a Provençale manner with shallots and aubergines, garnished with truffle pate, brandy and a fried egg on top and Spam - Monty Python Spam Sketch