Monthly Archives: May 2018

The History Of (My) Coding – Part 8 Pirates And Pupils

After eleven years as a freelancer I was given the option to take a permanent role at a place I knew well… In truth it was not a difficult decision. The COBOL gravy train was showing signs of being derailed, and IR35 was a threat to the contract profession everywhere. I went to the pub […]

The History Of (My) Coding – Part 7 Pool And Panto

New century, new start. Or in my case, not so new as I returned to familiar ground in the centre of Manchester… Agencies can be a rare and strange breed. Even when you decide that you want to switch contracts they rarely help you, its almost as if they are in denial. This appeared to […]

The History Of (My) Coding – Part 6 Birdies And Bugs

After three contracts travelling to Leeds, Chester and Oldham, it was a welcome change to head back to the easily commutable Manchester city centre… By Spring 1996 the fashion retailer had ditched Mantis. The 4GL that worked particularly well with the hierarchical database Supra was causing all sorts of problems. Performance, record locks, unfamiliarity; it […]