@cassandra17lina 30 years old is quite new when you’re talking about government. some government systems still use Fortran.
@cassandra17lina and on a mainframe. Very typical for mainframes to have old stuff.
I read it was a corrupt database file
@cassandra17lina It's a notification system. Age is no more an indicator of quality and stability in software than it is in people. There are a lot of "old" systems running like champs and a lot of new ones that can't get out of the gate.
It wasn't a software issue, it was a maintenance issue, from what I have read. 🤷
@Cosmichomicide @cassandra17lina sorry but often the issue is that the underlying technology is or is not adaptable to change. Over time, software that cannot adapt becomes obsolete. Some of the issues here were related to cost cutting and not prioritizing the proper maintenance of the 30 year old software. Like anything else, if you just ignore problems, they will come back to haunt you.
@t_lang @cassandra17lina Not really. The core questions related to a software "upgrade" (or replacement or rewrite) are:
1. Does it do what it is supposed to do?
2. Is it a security risk?
3. Can it be maintained?
Think about it - everyone is up at arms because a 30 year old system was down for a day.
How many times have you been down for a day? Your car? Your internet? Your power?
Guarantee if it was once in 30 years, you'd be thrilled. 😉
@t_lang @cassandra17lina New and shiny doesn't necessarily equal good. Sometimes it can just equal more complex or more expensive without resolving any problems (and sometimes introducing them).
As an example, I give you touchscreen vehicle controls - absolute cool factor. Looks awesome. Require that you take your attention off the road to operate...
@Cosmichomicide not advocating new and shiny. Just scalable and sustainable.
@t_lang Why? NOTAM has been in place since the 40s or 50s. It's simply a hazards notice. It's been sustainable for 30 years in current form so it's stable. Not sure what would be scaling since new airports aren't popping up everywhere.
Rather than waste taxpayer money on any changes, if everyone is super upset about it, Pete should retire it.
@Cosmichomicide I cannot relate to the particular software or industry but worked in software in other applications long enough to be aware of the issues of neglect over time. Maybe that is not the case here but it sure sounds familiar.
@Cosmichomicide @cassandra17lina ya but old software is hard to maintain!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_rot
Software rot
@HumanistEngineer @cassandra17lina There's likely not a lot to maintain. Interestingly, reading that wikipedia article, it doesn't seem like any of the software rot conditions or examples would apply to this system. (Note - I do not have any intimate knowledge of its code.)
@cassandra17lina
You should see the weather info.
Here's the METAR for Houston intercontinental airport:
KIAH 131120Z 1312/1418 35014G21KT P6SM SKC FM140100 35006KT P6SM FEW250 FM140600 VRB04KT P6SM SKC FM141500 07003KT P6SM SKC
It's essentially a code to condense the info because at the time it was created, communications were expensive and slow
@cassandra17lina Wait until you hear about Linux!