Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site watdaisy.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!watdaisy!ndiamond From: ndiamond@watdaisy.UUCP (Norman Diamond) Newsgroups: net.jokes,net.lang.forth Subject: Re: Forth from the Stone Age? Message-ID: <6819@watdaisy.UUCP> Date: Thu, 13-Dec-84 20:26:55 EST Article-I.D.: watdaisy.6819 Posted: Thu Dec 13 20:26:55 1984 Date-Received: Fri, 14-Dec-84 06:18:31 EST References: <45@mot.UUCP> <6810@watdaisy.UUCP>, <1807@umcp-cs.UUCP> Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario Lines: 37 Xref: watmath net.jokes:9907 net.lang.forth:187 Charley Wingate writes: > For an 8-bit micro, there simply were no civilized languages with sufficient > power (unless you think 8080 assembly is civilized :-)); there are hardly any > now. > ... > I suspect that the I/O package for most FORTRANs (dare I mention PL/I?) is > considerably larger than the Forth COMPILER would be on the same machine. > ... > "Forth-- Stay to here is that language a" There are people who regard PL/M as a civilized language. (I am not one.) Of course, I haven't met a civilized language yet, though some languages incorporate some civilized features. Also don't forget, Fortran I/O packages are often larger than even Fortran compilers. Of course, any language that doesn't offer run-time support will not require its libraries to be as large as its compilers. But of course, Forth is here to stay, as are Fortran and PL/I and APL and Cobol and Basic (and now to move on to those that are only 75% flawed) C and Pascal and Ada. This discussion no longer seems appropriate for net.jokes ... all I wished to do in my previous submission was to anti-honk, and perhaps we should move to net.jokes.d ... but first, one observation: Why will no-one consider the possibility of using 10-year-old hardware -- they always insist on using the latest, 5-year-old hardware -- but they are perfectly happy using languages that are 20 years old? -- Norman Diamond UUCP: {decvax|utzoo|ihnp4|allegra|clyde}!watmath!watdaisy!ndiamond CSNET: ndiamond%watdaisy@waterloo.csnet ARPA: ndiamond%watdaisy%waterloo.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa "Opinions are those of the keyboard, and do not reflect on me or higher-ups."