Re: [PLUG] [plug-announce] Wed, Feb 1, 2017: PLUG Central - "Secrets of the Dead: What Modern Programmers Can Learn from COBOL" by Walt Mankowski (7pm at USP)

["Paul L. Snyder" <paul@pataprogramming.com>]

Yep! Sorry, Walt, missed erasing the old abstract when cutting-and-pasting
in the info for your talk. Oops!

Thanks for the info on the backup contact info for getting into Griffith
Hall, Keith...we'll make sure that is sent out with future announcements.

On Mon, 30 Jan 2017, Walt Mankowski wrote:

> Was the part at the end about Django left over from last month? My
> talk will last a full hour.
> 
> Walt
> 
> On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 02:43:10PM -0500, Paul L. Snyder wrote:
> > NOTE: Please check the PLUG website before heading out on Wednesday
> > in case of weather-related cancellations.
> > 
> > PLUG Central will be meeting on Wednesday, February 1, at USP in 
> > Philadelpha, beginning at 7pm. Directions to the meeting location 
> > at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia can be found at 
> > the end of this email. 
> > 
> > This month, PLUG West welcomes back Dr. Walt Mankowski, who will be
> > giving a talk entitled "Secrets of the Dead: What Modern Programmers
> > Can Learn from COBOL". Walt has previously given versions of this talk
> > at FOSSCON 2016, PLUG West, and PLUG North.
> >    
> >   COBOL is the Rodney Dangerfield of the programming world - it
> >   doesn't get any respect. COBOL is routinely denigrated for its
> >   verbosity and dismissed as archaic, and for good reason: COBOL
> >   bears little to no resemblance to modern programming languages.
> >   Yet COBOL is far from a dead language. COBOL processes an
> >   estimated 85% of all business transactions, and 5 billion new
> >   lines of COBOL are written every year.
> > 
> >   I spent 10 years as a COBOL developer and saw first-hand the
> >   good and the bad of the language. Many of its criticisms are
> >   valid, and most PLUG attendees would probably be appalled at
> >   COBOL's syntax. But as COBOL approaches its 7th decade of
> >   active use, it's worth remembering that there are a few things
> >   that COBOL got spectacularly right, particularly in its primary
> >   niche in mainframe business programming. These include:
> > 
> >     * Separation of code, presentation, and operating environment
> >     * Datatypes to handle decimal currency amounts
> >     * Reading and writing fixed-length records
> > 
> >   And that appalling syntax is simple enough that even
> >   non-programmers can learn the basics in a few hours.
> > 
> >   Attendees will come away with old techniques they can apply to
> >   their new systems, and a new-found respect for their elders.
> > 
> > This month, PLUG Central will feature a talk by Anthony Marti
> > who whill be presenting an introduction to Django, a Python-based
> > web framework. The presention will give an overview of Django,
> > and will include an example of getting a new project running
> > using RHEL/CentOS 7, Python 3.4, Django 1.8.x, and Apache.
> > 
> >   https://www.djangoproject.com/
> > 
> > University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (USP) 
> > Griffith Hall (Room "C" or "A", look for the signs) 
> > 600 South 43rd Street 
> > Philadelphia, PA 19104-4495 
> > 
> > USP is located in University City. Driving directions are 
> > available at http://www.phillylinux.org/locations/usp.html, or 
> > http://www.usip.edu/directions, both of which have an aerial 
> > view of the campus buildings. USP is also easily accessible by 
> > public transportation. 
> > 
> > There will be an open Question & Answer session at 7PM, prior to 
> > the main presentation at 8PM. This is an open meeting; all are 
> > welcome and encouraged to attend. 
> > 
> > Usually, a number of members get together after the meeting at a 
> > nearby restaurant for food and perhaps a beer or two. Come join 
> > the camaraderie! 
> > _______________________________________________
> > plug-announce mailing list
> > plug-announce@lists.phillylinux.org
> > http://lists.netisland.net/mailman/listinfo/plug-announce
> > ___________________________________________________________________________
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> > Announcements - http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-announce
> > General Discussion  --   http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug



> ___________________________________________________________________________
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> Announcements - http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-announce
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