ABSTRACT
Conversion — the word is enough to dim the enthusiasm of most systems developers. The word instills fear in some, trepidation and loathing in others. Regardless of the nature of the project with which she or he is involved, if there is any conversion effort involved, the reaction is the same. Exclude it from project scope! Let someone else do it! Although some might suspect that there may be some religious connotation here, and rightly so, the topic of this article is not converting from one religion to another. Nor is the topic software conversion, although this would be closer to the mark. This article deals with the various forms of the conversion of data.
