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Old April 29th 05, 08:25 AM
Ian White GM3SEK
 
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Richard Clark wrote:

I calibrated the sonar domes in the Navy, and then pressure tested them
for Honeywell at their Marine Systems Division here in Seattle.

Funny story about that. The pressure vessel was controlled by an
ancient program running in FORTRAN (if you can imagine that).


It just goes to show, life is nothing but the story-line for a Dilbert
strip.

Frame 1:
Honeywell asked me to consult (after I had been a Metrologist for them
some years earlier) on how to translate the FORTRAN to HP Basic.

That sort of drew a slack-jawed reaction from me, it was rather a
regressive move. I suggested that the HP computers had a very nice
Pascal that would do a lot better, and the fireworks went off.

Frame 2:
"Pascal? Isn't that one of those European commie languages? It is
written backwards isn't it?"

Management wanted to read the code.


Frame 3:
The handwriting was on the wall and it spelled DOOMED.




--
73 from Ian GM3SEK 'In Practice' columnist for RadCom (RSGB)
http://www.ifwtech.co.uk/g3sek