O.C.C.
Onondaga Community College
Syracuse, New York
(1976 - 1980)
Programming as Systems Programmer at OCC
Software Built: |
|
|---|
OCC Computer Center staff
OCC staff at my farewell lunch
Jack
Milligan - Computer Center Director
My Experience Programming at O.C.C. |
|
I learned that the Computer Center of Onondaga Community College (OCC) in nearby Syracuse had an opening for a systems programmer. The Director, Jack Milligan, challenged me to do some work in the "real world" to help my perspective in future teaching, and I accepted the job. His Computer Center had an IBM 1130 that I was experienced in programming. It was used mostly for administrative data processing for the Registrar and Bursar, and for some student training laboratory classes. The biggest project was scheduling student's classes at the beginning of each semester. I found programming the 1130 to help administrators and students quite enjoyable. But the hour-long drive from Oswego was tedious, especially during the lake effect snowstorms. I occassionally stayed in my office all night due to bad driving weather or to an urgent programming need. But the processing power of the 1130 soon became inadequate as needs of administration increased, and a new Burroughs "minicomputer" was purchased as the least expensive alternative. Our 1130 programming was done using the FORTRAN language, but Burroughs programming was mostly in COBOL.  We faced a huge project of writing new COBOL programs to replace our Registrar and Bursar systems. I was the leader of three other Computer Center programmers assigned to that project. Some Burroughs programmers assisted us. A new feature was that each administrative office had terminals with keyboards and screens wired to the computer in our separate building. Our deadline was to have the new registration system working in time for scheduling classes at the beginning of the semester. For the first time, the registration would be done in an online method by remote terminals. Would the new computer and our new programming be able to keep up with the registering students? The night before registration, we all spent the entire night testing and reprogramming to get the system to work. Even the College Vice President in charge of the Computer Center joined us working all night. And it actually worked successfully. The computer users in the administrative offices appreciated the features I provided for them. My boss, Jack, called me his "magician" because I was able to accomplish so much more progress than other programmers. I worked lots of unpaid overtime, especially when getting the new computer system to work. Jack liked to say my work was equivalent to four programmers because I worked twice the hours and I was twice as productive. I enjoyed creating computer software tools to simplify the work of the College administrators, but I felt I ought to be using my programming skills to improve the lives of many more people, so I began searching for a new job where I could be programming for people all around the world... |
