Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!dali.cs.montana.edu!attila.cs.montana.edu!icsu8209 From: icsu8209@attila.cs.montana.edu (Glassy) Newsgroups: comp.lang.scheme Subject: Whither Headeth Scheme? Summary: Will Scheme die of obesity too? Message-ID: <3604@dali> Date: 5 Mar 91 04:14:16 GMT Sender: usenet@dali.cs.montana.edu Organization: Montana State University, Dept. of Computer Science, Bozeman MT 59717 Lines: 49 A short history of programming languages. fortran->fortran-II->fortran-IV->fortran-77->fortran-90->... lisp->lisp-1.5->{mac|inter}lisp->CL... | (rebellion) scheme->r1rs->r2rs->r3rs->r4rs... algol-60->algol-68 | | | (rebellion) algol-W->pascal->modula-{1,2}-+ | | (offshoot) CPL oberon<----+ | | | (rebellion) BCPL | | | (offshoot) B->C->C++... | (simula-67), (euclid), (clu) +...->Ada... (functional languages omitted. anyone care to add them?) Observation 1: whenever there's a Rebellion, Things get Simpler. Observation 2: (Sobering): as we move to the right, things get More Bloated. (ie CL, Ada, C++) (exception: Oberon seems to be heading the other way.) (this is not a flame towards any of the language designers. all of them tried (try) to get the best tool given the current hardware, software, and conceptual constraints. also, i'm not a "turn-back- the-clock" advocate. i'm glad fortran-II is no longer with us.) Question: when Scheme dies of "feature-bloat" (say, about R6RS), what will be the next small, elegant language, useful for reasoning about programs, about programming? Schemers, what will come after you? Thanks, Lou Glassy (icsu8209@caesar.cs.montana.edu) -- -- Lou Glassy --Cicero