Legacy code (formerly, A revolutionary OS/Programming Idea)

[Lynn H. Maxson]

Tom Novelli writes:
"So which was faster, relational or hierarchical?"

Hierarchical.

"...I guess that's the sad state of all manufacturing in the 
information age..  They spend more money collecting and 
analyzing *bogus* information than they  spend on actual 
manufacturing.  Why do they always insist on entering
everything, even work-in-progress, into an inflexible central 
database?..."

Well, I guess you have to read Plossl & Wight's "Production 
and Inventory Control System".  It took awhile through two 
generations of sytems and operating systems to bring it into 
fruition with COPICS (Communication-Oriiented Production and 
Inventory Control System).  To appreciate it you need really 
to go back a decade or so to initial efforts on inventory 
control, forecasting, and replenishment algorithms.

So I have no clue to what's going on in this instance of your 
experience.  I do have a clue to the history and evolution of 
inventory control systems from pre-punch card systems 
(manual) to batch punch-card to batch computer to online 
(transaction-based) systems.  I saw them in too many 
different manufacturing and distribution accounts and stand as 
witness the increase in productivity and efficiency that 
ensued.

I guess it's possible to abuse a good thing after about twenty 
years of getting it to a certain point.  For those who didn't 
abuse it it was a real money saver.

"...I know you're working on a big project :)  I just wanted to 
make a point.  These mailing lists are a big waste of time, so 
let's wrap this up..."

It's not a big project, only one tool, one data 
repository/directory, one language, one user interface.  If I 
had to do two of anything, then it might grow to a "large" 
project.<g>  I don't regard mailing lists and the challenges for 
which they function as conduits as wastes of time.  We have 
to have some means of evolving ideas against the broadest 
base of differences.  I do agree, however, that for the 
moment we need some time to digest the exchange of ideas.  
I've enjoyed this interchange.