Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site ecsvax.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxb!mhuxn!mhuxm!mhuxj!houxm!whuxlm!akgua!mcnc!ecsvax!dgary
From: dgary@ecsvax.UUCP (D Gary Grady)
Newsgroups: net.lang
Subject: Why do languages become popular?
Message-ID: <559@ecsvax.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 25-Jan-85 11:23:45 EST
Article-I.D.: ecsvax.559
Posted: Fri Jan 25 11:23:45 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 28-Jan-85 05:09:08 EST
Organization: Duke U Comp Ctr
Lines: 35

<>
Recently I've begun noticing posters saying things like "Concurrent
Euclid is a great language - pity it isn't catching on like Modula-2"
and "FORTRAN is awful, but it's everywhere."  Why do some "good"
languages fail to become popular while inferior counterparts run
amuck?

I can think of several factors related to language popularity.  In no
particular order:

Age (the why of FORTRAN), especially when there is little or no
competition at the original time of introduction.

Ease of learning.

Ease of implementing.

Existence of good books on them (maybe??).

Existence of good implementations, especially free implementations.

Fads.

Support from a big organization (but that doesn't always work: consider
IBM and PL/I).

Random luck.

What do you think?  Should a "new and improved" language attempt to
meet these criteria in addition to "pure" computer science ones?
-- 
D Gary Grady
Duke U Comp Center, Durham, NC  27706
(919) 684-3695
USENET:  {seismo,decvax,ihnp4,akgua,etc.}!mcnc!ecsvax!dgary