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)