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<DIV>Indeed, I have to echo this sentiment. Many years ago, in a previous life, I was a systems programmer on large IBM mainframes. It was quite common practice then to hack the operating system. There were a few "hooks" but many times those were simply inadequate to do what some people thought were good ideas.</DIV>
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<DIV>As time went on, it became a major challenge (as in hassle) to update the operating system. Some companies had armies of systems programmers just to maintain these hacks. I don't know if any ever actually sat down and figured out if they were really worth what they were spending to keep those hacks in place.</DIV>
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<DIV>But I did when I went to a new job where the system hadn't been updated in four years and new computers that were on order (it could take 2 years then) made it mandatory to do so. As I began working on the hacks that were in place - and poorly documented, if at all - I realized that some were really not worth keeping and others could be reworked in such a way that they used real hooks.</DIV>
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<DIV>All through this process I kept hearing "we've always done it that way." On the day we cut over to the new operating system (it was a big deal then), I had a tee-shirt made that said "We aren't going to do it that way any more."</DIV>
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<DIV>Words to live by: "NO core hacks!"</DIV>
<DIV>More words to live by: "No PHP pages!"</DIV>
<DIV>It's not just words to live by - it's religion.<BR></DIV>
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<P><FONT face="bookman old style, new york, times, serif" color=#ff007f size=4><EM><STRONG>Nancy E. Wichmann, PMP</STRONG></EM></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. -- Dr. Martin L. King, Jr.</FONT></P>
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<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">From:</SPAN></B> Yuval Hager <A href="mailto:yhager@yhager.com">yhager@yhager.com</A><BR></FONT><BR>So before you dive in, if you are in position to, consider to make this a make <BR>D6 or break decision to the customer.</DIV>
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