Wirt Atmar wrote:

<snip>

> The first rule of writing any software package -- and most especially an
> operating system -- is: If you put something into the package, you can never
> take it out, so be very, very careful about what you put in.

If only this were true in practice as well as theory! For instance, if a
certain third-party software company would follow this advice, we
wouldn't have fifteen nearly-identical-but-not-quite copies of their
software in different groups with names like PH503D9, PH619C, PH709E2,
PH729C6, etc. on all our systems. (You know who you are. [I suspect most
of the rest of you do too.])

<RANT>
It works like this: Our programmers write production jobs which use a
function or command that's not available in the next release of the 3P
(third-party) software. They are stuck when they discover the new
release not only doesn't have the same commands, but some commands now
work differently, others have different syntax, and in one case I can
remember two commands actually had their functions swapped! Yet our
users expect to see the same reports as before, so we keep the old
versions around... Not to mention our programming staff has very little
time available for conversion of existing jobs to use a new version of
3P software. Very frustrating.
</RANT>

Patrick "feeling better after venting" Santucci
--
Patrick Santucci
Technical Services Systems Programmer
KVI, a division of Seabury & Smith
Visit our site! http://www.kvi-ins.com
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"If they try to rush me, I always say, 'I've only got
one other speed -- and it's slower.'"    ~ Glenn Ford