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Article #4777

Error message anecdote

#4777
From: lme... Bengt Gllmo L M Ericsson ...
Date: Wed, 26 Sep 1990 08:32
44 lines
2141 bytes
When we installed an IBM 7090 in Stockholm in the early 60's,
its FORTRAN came with an execution error message

DIVIDE CHECK. EXECUTION TERMINATED.

Many programmers didn't understand what a divide check was,
they were not too used to English anyway, so we got a lot of
telephone calls. After a while, we got tired of explaining and 
changed the message to

DIVISION BY ZERO. EXECUTION TERMINATED.

That stopped the telephone calls, but not the divide checks.
People continued to waste machine time and operator time by
not thinking through their source programs before they  
submitted them. So, we changed the message again, to read

YOU IDIOT, YOU HAVE DIVIDED BY ZERO. EXECUTION TERMINATED.

That got us into trouble with the union. Yes, most of the
programmers were union members. The union complained to our
management that we were being vulgar and insulted their
members! So, we changed again, to

SORRY, YOU HAVE DIVIDED BY ZERO ...

That would have been the end of the story, if it had not 
been for one specific programmer, whose name shall remain
a secret. All the others gradually learned to avoid divide
checks, but she continued to waste machine time, until one
day she got the following message:

BUT (her name), YOU HAVE DIVIDED BY ZERO ***AGAIN*** ...

The error routine now looked specifically for her id, and
gave her this special message. Her ego never quite recovered!

-----
Bengt Gallmo                        e-mail: lme...@eds.ericsson.se
Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson    phone:  +46 8 719 1940
S-126 25 STOCKHOLM                  fax:    +46 8 719 3988
SWEDEN

Sometimes a majority only means that all the fools are on the same side!
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Path: mbox-mo1.pugleaf.net!gmdzi!unido!mcsun!sunic!ericom!tnetxa.ericsson.se!eds.ericsson.se!lmebgo
From: lme...@eds.ericsson.se (Bengt G{llmo, L M Ericsson, Stockholm, Sweden)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Error message anecdote
Message-ID: <14377@eds.ericsson.se>
Date: 26 Sep 90 08:32:19 GMT
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Posted: Wed Sep 26 09:32:19 1990
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