Initial and Date Annotation in columns 73-80

Trent Alexander · Post by **Trent Alexander** » Fri Apr 16, 2004 6:38 pm

We are a COBOL programming shop and we are looking for a way to automatically insert a persons initials and date (ie. iiyymmdd = TA040416) in columns 73-80 (not used by COBOL) whenever a modification in made to columns 7-72 of a given line. This would allow us to track when and who modified a program at the line level. It would be great if we could just type it in once when we opened a file for editing and have it applied automatically to each line we modify. Or upon launching TextPad have macro ask for your initials and get yymmdd from the system date or something to that effect. Please note columns 1-6 in COBOL are used for line numbers which we regenerate using a regular expression and would not want the annotation applied. Anyone out there doing anything like this? talexander@sportchalet.com

talleyrand · Post by **talleyrand** » Fri Apr 16, 2004 8:28 pm

Don't think TextPad can do that, but I've been wrong before. Perhaps an alternate solution would be (assuming you're using a version control system) to compare the source and modified file on check in and automatically apply the comments to the changed lines. Wouldn't be a enormous undertaking for the right scripting language.

Post by **MudGuard** » Fri Apr 16, 2004 8:31 pm

I don't think this (the marking of each changed line) is possible with textpad.
My best idea of doing this would be to use a tool for checking in to source control - that tool would check for different lines (disregarding line numbers).

Otherwise:
Can't you set up your punch card puncher to do that for you? ;-)

Many years ago, I worked as a student for a month in a department of a big software house - that department was developping a COBOL compiler. One of the team was a member of the COBOL standardizing committee. He was discussing with the other colleagues whether this or that old feature of COBOL was to be obsoleted in the next version of the standard. I always tried to convince them that it would be easiest to make the next COBOL standard a one-liner:

COBOL is obsolete ;-)

Sorry for the rant - I have learnt to program in COBOL (and many other programming languages) and even helped develop a compiler for it - but I never liked the language...

Trent Alexander · Post by **Trent Alexander** » Fri Apr 16, 2004 9:55 pm

MudGuard wrote:I don't think this (the marking of each changed line) is possible with textpad.
My best idea of doing this would be to use a tool for checking in to source control - that tool would check for different lines (disregarding line numbers).

Otherwise:
Can't you set up your punch card puncher to do that for you?

Many years ago, I worked as a student for a month in a department of a big software house - that department was developping a COBOL compiler. One of the team was a member of the COBOL standardizing committee. He was discussing with the other colleagues whether this or that old feature of COBOL was to be obsoleted in the next version of the standard. I always tried to convince them that it would be easiest to make the next COBOL standard a one-liner:

COBOL is obsolete

Sorry for the rant - I have learnt to program in COBOL (and many other programming languages) and even helped develop a compiler for it - but I never liked the language...

I made this post looking for constructive help not smart remarks about COBOL from a ScheiÃŸkerl like you. Du bist ein verdammter Wichser. You had that coming oberarsch kraut!

talleyrand · Post by **talleyrand** » Sat Apr 17, 2004 2:05 pm

Days like this, I wish I understood German. I must say the Fish's translation is rather amusing.
MudGuard, you might like this quote from the dearly departed Edsgar Dijkstra "The use of COBOL cripples the mind; its teaching should, therefore, be regarded as a criminal offense."

Post by **MudGuard** » Sat Apr 17, 2004 6:40 pm

talleyrand, if you understood these pieces of German, you would want to not understand it.

Just some attempts at insulting me - but it takes more than a COBOL programmer to insult me...

I guess Trent's unfriendliness is caused by his gastric ulcers which are caused by having to program in COBOL