Hmmm, just as C was killed by its own academic exclusivity? Just as VFP is an extension of dBase so could Algol, etc. have evolved.
I really meant that Borroughs was killed by the first 500 pound gorilla - IBM. My point would be that IBM didn't have a machine on the market that could really compete with the (1950's) B6500 in terms of speed until the 43xx series in the early 80's. They NEVER had a mainframe that could compete in terms of ease of use. Those of us who had to work on IBM mainframes, just as those of us subjected to windoze now, had to suffer through that period. Anyway, I prefer VFP... I/O WAS a bear in Fortran... Andy Davies wrote: > Chet Gardiner said "As for Algol, it was killed by the first 500 pound > gorilla - IBM." > > Algol was killed by its own academic exclusivity: the same fault as I > critised in Fortran at the start of this thread. I say exclusivity but > perhaps I mean otherworldlyness - the assumption that computers would be > used by 'scientists' and their solutions published as 'algorithms'. > The wiki entry ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ALGOL ) illustrates my > point: > > ...became the de facto standard way to report algorithms * in print * - > (my emphasis). > > ALGOL 60 as officially defined had no I/O facilities - which was my > comment on FORTRAN > > ALGOL was developed jointly by a committee of European and American > computer scientists - 'nuff said! > > Earlier, Ed said "The fact that it was the first non-Assembler-level > language was pretty significant, IMO." > - certainly, and Assembler was a significant advance on machine code; but > it is possible for something to be both significant and have its > contribution overstated <s>. > > Andrew Davies MBCS CITP > - AndyD 8-)# > > > ********************************************************************** > > This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended > solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If > you have received this email in error please notify the system manager. > > This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept by > MIMEsweeper for the presence of computer viruses. > > Please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] with any queries. > > ********************************************************************** > > > [excessive quoting removed by server] _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: ProFox@leafe.com Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
