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The IRS’s Effort to Convert Its Assembly Codebase to Java

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Re: The IRS’s Effort to Convert Its Assembly Codebase to Java

#181

Post by vkou »

wtf_is_up wrote: post #127
vkou wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, your medical plan evaporates the moment you stop working for most federal agencies? Just like my private employer's medical plan? And guaranteed pensions are no longer a thing? What is left as a justification for below-market salaries? Employment opportunities in government-dominated towns (which do not have healthy private-sector economies), and more job security?

The justification for below-market salaries is that you aren't expected to actually produce anything and are almost impossible to terminate unless you commit fraud or harassment. This comes from first hand experience as a federal engineer for almost a decade.

My mother-in-law's first hand experience in handling medical treatment cases for VA for the past decade is that you're expected to handle more cases then you have the time to.

You're also expected to do so, while wading through a waist-deep morass of technological, beurocratic, and managerial stupidity.

In that agency, she can't just zone out and phone it in.

Re: The IRS’s Effort to Convert Its Assembly Codebase to Java

#183

Post by innagadadavida »

jacquesm wrote: post #12
TimJYoung wrote: post #7

Wow, what a cool project to work on: working out the logic flows in assembler and breaking them out so that they can be translated into a higher-level language. I've always thought that this type of government work should be open to bids from anyone . If the government is worried about trojans, malware, etc., then they can easily hire an auditor to audit the code and vouch for its authenticity. The fact that only ver…

The big trick is the proposal itself. Writing that is only possible if you are already tied in at all kinds of levels. I've seen some of these tenders up close, the companies that land the deals submit phone book sized proposals to tenders that are officially open but actually closed unless you are in a very select circle already. It's not uncommon for the proposal writer to then pass on the actual work to a whole sl…

This seems like a problem of trust and the IRS has already chosen whom it trusts based on past work done etc. Seems unfair, but how would you be able to trust someone whom you’ve never done business with earlier? Could these be translated to laws to prevent this type of exclusion?

Re: The IRS’s Effort to Convert Its Assembly Codebase to Java

#184

Post by lobster_johnson »

chx wrote: post #180

What this article implies is not entirely correct: this codebase is not S/370 assembly, oh no. It's IBM 7074! Check also the reports which said the Master File age was over 55 years -- the S/370 is too new for that. https://books.google.ca/books?id=3iEDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA88&lpg=PA...

There was an interesting article/HN story a year ago about the government working Java into an ancient IBM 7074 system: https://thenewstack.io/happens-use-java-1960-ibm-mainframe/

HN discussion here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13464675

Re: The IRS’s Effort to Convert Its Assembly Codebase to Java

#185

Post by robertha »

gbacon wrote: post #149
robertha wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just registered on SAM and submitted a bid (something unrelated to this), but no idea what I was doing, I mean I put together a plan, had meaningful past performance, but overall I'm just hoping for the best. Would you happen to have any resources you followed? Or, suggestions that you believe led you to submitting a successful bid?

Was your bid on the recent SBIR/STTR solicitation by chance?

Custom database product for EPA, seemed like a good fit. While I have no connections to EPA, I do some collaborative work with bio-engineering department at a university in Chicago, I'm a data scientist/developer/have a small team, I thought I'd try dipping my toes in something new.

Re: The IRS’s Effort to Convert Its Assembly Codebase to Java

#186

Post by robertha »

efm wrote: post #170
robertha wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just registered on SAM and submitted a bid (something unrelated to this), but no idea what I was doing, I mean I put together a plan, had meaningful past performance, but overall I'm just hoping for the best. Would you happen to have any resources you followed? Or, suggestions that you believe led you to submitting a successful bid?

There are Procurement Technical Assistance centers in every region of the country. They are staffed by former procurement officers, and help companies learn how to sell to government and prime contractors. http://www.aptac-us.org/

I was just looking into it a few hours ago, do you have a good experience with them? Just as many people on here I've been through different forms of office hours, one of them with a locally run entrepreneurship center, I saw an attorney (that was years ago before I could properly afford one). I know the guy volunteered his time, but basically what he said was "hey, give me a portion of your company, and I'll provide you with services", I came away with absolutely zero advice. That's why when I was looking into it today, I was a bit skeptical.

Re: The IRS’s Effort to Convert Its Assembly Codebase to Java

#187

Post by jacquesm »

sjg007 wrote: post #118
woobar wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here is one of the two young entrepreneurs (19 and 23 years old) that secured ~$300M DoD contract. So obviously, it is not as bad. ;) In 2005, Packouz (23 years old at the time) joined Efraim Diveroli (19 years old at the time) in Diveroli's arms company AEY Inc. By the end of 2006, the company had won 149 contracts worth around $10.5 million.[1] In early 2007, AEY secured a nearly $300 million U.S. government contra…

I like how they were turned in by their supplier for failing to pay.

It's also listed as a text book case of what is wrong with procurement.

Re: The IRS’s Effort to Convert Its Assembly Codebase to Java

#188

Post by efm »

robertha wrote: post #186
efm wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are Procurement Technical Assistance centers in every region of the country. They are staffed by former procurement officers, and help companies learn how to sell to government and prime contractors. http://www.aptac-us.org/

I was just looking into it a few hours ago, do you have a good experience with them? Just as many people on here I've been through different forms of office hours, one of them with a locally run entrepreneurship center, I saw an attorney (that was years ago before I could properly afford one). I know the guy volunteered his time, but basically what he said was "hey, give me a portion of your company, and I'll provide…

I saw a presentation from one of the people from the local office. Her advice seemed reasonable: Go to the procurement conferences, get a one-pager of the capabilities of your firm, and talk to the purchasing agents. See government contracting as a supplement to your business revenue, not the core.

Re: The IRS’s Effort to Convert Its Assembly Codebase to Java

#189

Post by BookmarkSaver »

warrenm wrote: post #136
guelo wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, you can't say it's bipartisan when Republicans have consistently sought to intentionally damage the IRS by underfunding it. They even tried to impeach the IRS chief because he wouldn't go along with their manufactured fake news scandal about the Tea Party.

Republicans like Obama who reduced funding for the IRS multiple times while in office?

Did he reduce it, or was it simply reduced while he was in office. Because he had a Republican Congress for 75% of his presidency.

Re: The IRS’s Effort to Convert Its Assembly Codebase to Java

#190

Post by BookmarkSaver »

s73v3r_ wrote: post #178
whataretensors wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Assembler is like Shakespearean English. Author has no idea what assembler is.

I think the comparison is quite apt. Shakespearean English is an ancestor of today's English, much like assembly languages are the ancestors of today's languages. Shakespearean English is grammatically correct, much like this assembly code is, presumably, correct in doing what it needs to do. And, most pertinent, almost nobody speaks in Shakespearean English, and fewer and fewer people are comfortable working with it…

I don't think it addresses one of the most important aspect of assembly, though, which is it's strict, functional/feature inferiority to modern languages.

It isn't just old and forgotten, its very style and function is extremely limited in comparison. Shakespearean English is just about as functional of a language as modern English (ignoring the vocabulary for things that didn't exist back then), which can't be said about assembly.

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