Chapter7. Using ASA text files

[nob...@nowhere.com]

[...]
| An ASA character can be updated to any other ASA character. Updates
| made to any of the C control characters that make up an ASA character
| cause the ASA character to change. If the file is positioned directly
| after a ' ' or '0' ASA character, writing a '\n' character changes the
| ASA character to a '0' or '-' respectively. However, if the ASA
| character is a '-', '1' or '+', the '\n' truncates the record (that is,
| it adds blank padding to the end of the record), and causes the
| following record's ASA character to be written as a ' '. Writing a '\f'
| or '\r' terminates the record and starts a new one, but writing a normal
| data character simply overwrites the first data character of the record.
[...]

Oh god, thanks for the explo! It all makes so much sense now!

Its obvious why ASA text files are so ubiquitous today.

[auuV]

Im having a job finding references to them, other than one at IBM.

[nob...@nowhere.com]

How strange.

[auuV]

Is it? HIBT?

[nob...@nowhere.com]

Possibly in some senses. I do feel that you may have missed some of the
sarcasm in my original ps0t, for example.

Allow me to elaborate:

WHY WOULD *ANYONE* INVENT A FORMAT LIKE THAT? GAAH!

[auuV]

I did realise there was sarcasm - just started to wonder if the thing
had ever actually been out there, because of the lack of results for a
search!

>Allow me to elaborate:
>
>WHY WOULD *ANYONE* INVENT A FORMAT LIKE THAT? GAAH!

I think I might have an answer to that one! Something to do with VOZ?

[nob...@nowhere.com]

Did anyone ever actually use many of these obscure formats? What about
ASN.1? Ever seen it outside of textbooks and expensive Butler Cox
reports?

>>Allow me to elaborate:
>>
>>WHY WOULD *ANYONE* INVENT A FORMAT LIKE THAT? GAAH!
>
>I think I might have an answer to that one! Something to do with VOZ?

That begs the question though: Why would VOZ invent a format like that?

Because they have a pathological need to control all formats for
everything everywhere, presumly. Even though that almost never actually
caused them to make more money, which would be the only rational reason
for doing it. It was just a kind of compulsion for them. Like Fbal
with their media formats.

Obvly thats just an educated guess. :|

[auuV]

Ah, I had forgotten about Butler Cox reports!

>>>Allow me to elaborate:
>>>
>>>WHY WOULD *ANYONE* INVENT A FORMAT LIKE THAT? GAAH!
>>
>>I think I might have an answer to that one! Something to do with VOZ?
>
>That begs the question though: Why would VOZ invent a format like that?
>
>Because they have a pathological need to control all formats for
>everything everywhere, presumly.

That was what I was getting at.

>Even though that almost never actually
>caused them to make more money, which would be the only rational reason
>for doing it. It was just a kind of compulsion for them. Like Fbal
>with their media formats.
>
>Obvly thats just an educated guess. :|

They were, in my limited experience with them, very bureaucratic
internally. Internal depts setting standards, goals, measurements,
systems, possibly quite insulated from the real world. This is
speaking from limited encounters in their buildings and events.

[nob...@nowhere.com]

So a bit like the army then - incredibly bureaucratic internally and yet
somehow incredibly successful at what they do?

Interesting.

[auuV]

That seems accurate.

>Interesting.

Maybe the boffins manipulated things so that the internal bureaucracy
kapt itself busy and lost track of what they were doing so that they
could get on with things a lot of the time.

[nob...@nowhere.com]

Maybe.

Im picturing it a bit more like the Boskonians though. The only way for
your business unit to survive is by killing off other, competing
business units with their rival projects.

Thats how you get a strong organisation, right? Survival of the
fittest?

[auuV]

I didnt know anything about them and have read a little now.

>Thats how you get a strong organisation, right? Survival of the
>fittest?

Not sure it would be sustainable tbh.