DOS ain't dead

DJGPP love Window$ ? (Developers)

posted by Rugxulo , Usono, 20.10.2013, 00:55

http://www.pascal-central.com/ppl/chapter4.html#Myths

> The culture of Pascal is oriented unapologetically toward readability
> in style, elegance of algorithm, and its expression as code. The
> culture of C is self-consciously ambitious, yet obfuscatory. This is
> illustrated quite well by C. A. R. Hoare in an introduction to the
> classic paper, An Axiomatic Definition of the Programming Language
> Pascal, for the book, Great Papers in Computer Science. In reference
> to his goal of designing a better programming language - one which
> makes it easier to write correct programs and harder to write incorrect
> ones - Hoare writes, "It is a matter of continuing regret that so few
> languages have ever been designed to meet that goal, or even to make
> significant concessions towards it. For example, the programming
> language C was designed to assist in writing a small single-user
> operating system (UNIX) for a real-time minicomputer (PDP 11), now
> thankfully obsolete. For this purpose, its low level of abstraction
> and plethora of machine-oriented features are entirely appropriate.
> For all other purposes, they are a nuisance. The successful
> propagation of the language can be explained by accidental, commercial,
> historical, and political factors; it is hardly due to any inherent
> quality as a tool for the reliable creation of sophisticated programs."

http://www.pascal-central.com/compare.html

> Pascal will die only if programmers let it die. Cries for its death
> do not offer any justification for its demise other than inertia.
> Our goal should not be to adopt the "winner", but to use the best
> tool available. After all, that's why we use Macintosh. -- Jim Phillips

Please disregard any bias (good or bad) regarding C, Pascal, Mac mentioned here. Obviously that was not my point in quoting these. You can substitute your own favorites there. The point is that you can defend (or criticize) anything if you try hard enough. But saying "xyz isn't useful for anyone doing anything anywhere anymore" is being overly pessimistic. (And often technically incorrect since the subtleties aren't obvious unless you actively use it. But often people are passively indifferent or even actively but irrationally hostile to competing tech, hence why we have so many vendors, versions, forks, etc.)

Complete thread:

• DJGPP love Window$ ? - iw2evk, 14.09.2013, 14:07
  • DJGPP love Window$ ? - georgpotthast, 14.09.2013, 18:08
    • DJGPP love Window$ ? - iw2evk, 14.09.2013, 18:48
      • DJGPP love Window$ ? - Laaca, 15.09.2013, 07:38
      • DJGPP love Window$ ? - georgpotthast, 15.09.2013, 09:10
      • DJGPP love Window$ ? - Laaca, 15.09.2013, 12:13
        • DJGPP love Window$ ? - bocke, 16.09.2013, 02:54
    • DJGPP love Window$ ? - Rugxulo, 14.09.2013, 20:36
      • DJGPP love Window$ ? - iw2evk, 15.09.2013, 09:13
        • DJGPP love Window$ ? - georgpotthast, 15.09.2013, 10:49
          • DJGPP love Window$ ? - Rugxulo, 15.09.2013, 20:32
            • DJGPP love Window$ ? - bocke, 16.09.2013, 02:53
      • DJGPP love Window$ ? - georgpotthast, 15.09.2013, 10:14
        • DJGPP love Window$ ? - Rugxulo, 15.09.2013, 20:08
          • DJGPP love Window$ ? - RayeR, 16.09.2013, 13:45
          • DJGPP love Window$ ? - georgpotthast, 16.09.2013, 20:56
            • DJGPP love Window$ ? - Rugxulo, 01.10.2013, 08:25
        • DJGPP love Window$ ? - marcov, 16.09.2013, 19:58
          • DJGPP love Window$ ? - Rugxulo, 02.10.2013, 22:52
            • DJGPP love Window$ ? - Rugxulo, 05.10.2013, 22:50
              • DJGPP love Window$ ? - Rugxulo, 20.10.2013, 00:55
                • DJGPP love Window$ ? - Rugxulo, 20.10.2013, 01:59
                  • DJGPP love Window$ ? - marcov, 20.10.2013, 21:28
                    • DJGPP love Window$ ? - Rugxulo, 22.10.2013, 01:17