rap@csadfa.oz (Robert Pearson) (08/23/89)
We currently teach a course on file access techniques, file processing which uses COBOL as a tool. The course is aimed at information processing ; and the following course is a database design, building, etc course. One of the aims is to give the students some exposure to programming as well as the background for different types of database management systems. However although the students have had some exposure to PASCAL they find the COBOL a bit of a drag. I would like an alternative. The software must be able to cope with sequential, hashing, and index sequential files. A '4GL'( an awful name) may be approriate. Either Unix, or Mac would be an appropriate operating system. PASCAL C are not valid alternatives, nor is Ada. FORTRAN is also inappropriate. TODAY may be a valid option but the version I know of uses a relational back end. One suggestion was to use LINC (sp?) but this was a Burroughs ; Unisys operating system. Robert Pearson rap@csadfa.oz
jeremy@misadel.oz (Jeremy Begg) (08/29/89)
In article <1960@csadfa.oz>, rap@csadfa.oz (Robert Pearson) writes: > We currently teach a course on file access techniques, file processing > which uses COBOL as a tool. > The course is aimed at information processing ; and the following > course is a database design, building, etc course. > One of the aims is to give the students some exposure to programming > as well as the background for different types of database management systems. > However although the students have had some exposure to PASCAL they find the > COBOL a bit of a drag. I would like an alternative. What sort of course is this -- are the students enrolled in it likely to be going out into the commercial world, or is it a "computer familiarity course" for students not interested in computing as a career? If your students are going to be programmers in the "real world" of commercial programming, they would be best served by staying with COBOL as many, many sites still use it. A student who knows COBOL is going to find it much easier to get a job over one who doesn't. Jeremy Begg +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Management Information Systems, | E-Mail: jeremy@misadel.oz | | 125 Dew Street, Thebarton, | Phone: +61 8 3524877 (work) | | South Australia 5031 | | +-------------------------------------------------------------------+