Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!dev!dgis!jkrueger
From: jkrueger@dgis.dtic.dla.mil (Jon)
Newsgroups: comp.databases
Subject: Re: 5GLs, as defined in Jessica Keyes' article
Keywords: Uniface, 5GLs, dbms
Message-ID: <900@dgis.dtic.dla.mil>
Date: 28 Jun 90 13:57:21 GMT
References: <1192@abcom.ATT.COM> <37595@sequent.UUCP>
Organization: Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC), Alexandria VA
Lines: 27

normb@sequent.UUCP (Norm Browne) writes:

>there is not
>one iota of consensus as to what makes a piece of software a 4GL.
>Given this, why even bother trying to define what a 5GL might be?

Agreed.  `4GL' is largely marketing hype, `5GL' purely so.
And if you don't believe that, I've got a 6GL I'll sell ya.
Yours is only a 5, right?  Well, this one goes to 6, you see,
so it's better.  What?  An advanced 5GL turbo plus?

:-)  :-)  :-)

History lends perspective.  To call FORTRAN an "automatic programming
system" today would raise a few eyebrows -- and yet it was the first
one, in the usage of the 50's, 60's.  Wrote your program for you!  All
you did was write your formula in algebraic form.  Now it's just
another "programming language", and according to many we're still
trying to get one good one that's widely available.  I suggest that in
another 30 years the use of `4GL' to characterize today's user
interfaces to databases will get a smile; references to `5GL's will
provoke hails of derisive laughter, Bruce.

-- Jon
-- 
Jonathan Krueger    jkrueger@dtic.dla.mil   uunet!dgis!jkrueger
Drop in next time you're in the tri-planet area!