Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 beta 3/9/83; site xios.UUCP Path: utzoo!dciem!nrcaero!xios!mark From: mark@xios.UUCP (mark) Newsgroups: net.jokes Subject: Re: Request for computer science bloope Message-ID: <177@xios.UUCP> Date: Sun, 18-Aug-85 12:05:13 EDT Article-I.D.: xios.177 Posted: Sun Aug 18 12:05:13 1985 Date-Received: Tue, 20-Aug-85 06:20:59 EDT References: <115@uw-june> <53100120@trsvax> <353@wuphys.UUCP> Reply-To: mark@xios.UUCP () Organization: Xios Systems Corp., Ottawa, Ont. Lines: 16 Summary: In article <353@wuphys.UUCP> ljt@wuphys.UUCP (Lewis J.Thomas III) writes: >> After FORTRAN (short for FORmula TRANslation) became popular, the University >>of Waterloo decided to write their own version, calling it "WATFOR" presumably >>meaning "WATerloo FORmula translation". When they came out with a revision of >>the compiler, it was naturally called WATFIV. > >WATFIV really does stand for something sensible (I have forgotten what), >it is not just the next version of WATFOR. If anyone out in netland has >a WATFIV manual, the history of the name is given there. Lewis is both right and wrong. WATFIV does stand for something sensible, but it IS just the next version of WATFOR. WATFIV stands for WATerloo Formula translation IV (i.e. the 4th version). Mark Batten (utzoo!dciem!nrcaero!xios!mark)