Winston Prather: We are doing a
significant amount of work internally
with, for example, the modcal
compiler, marrrying the front end
to the PA-RISC 2.0 compiler to
support a lot of the 64-bit work
that is going on inside the lab. So
the good news is that we have
some investments going on there
that will help in the areas of
performance and help with access
and supporting the large object
work that’s going on. So
that’s one internal side.
In terms of the user perspective
– which is more where I think
Ken is targeting the question
– if it weren’t for the fact that
I’ve been to many SIGCOBOL
meetings over the years, and that I
was at the languages meeting
earlier today, I would ask a question
like for how many people is that a
problem and help me understand
that. Instead, I’m going to do
what any smart manager in my position
would do and pass the question on
to Jim Sartain.
Jim Sartain: We believe the
3000’s timeline for having a language
like COBOL is extending to the
right. In addition to the increased
investment level that we’ll
maintain on the platform as a whole,
it points to the need for us to
look more critically at what functionality
enhancements key languages such as
COBOL require. So we’re working
very closely with Jeanette
Nutsford, the SIGCOBOL executive committee,
and other Interex bodies to make
sure we understand and that we’re
making appropriate investments
based on that. We have to have
all of the investments in line. If
we’re making major growth limits,
increases, we also have to have the
application structure behind
it, so we’re definitely
working on that.