Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!utcs!mnetor!seismo!husc6!harvard!panda!genrad!decvax!decwrl!pyramid!hplabs!hp-sdd!ncr-sd!ncrcae!ncsu!uvacs!edison!steinmetz!davidsen
From: davidsen@steinmetz.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.lang
Subject: Re: Visual programming
Message-ID: <824@steinmetz.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 8-Jul-86 10:03:55 EDT
Article-I.D.: steinmet.824
Posted: Tue Jul  8 10:03:55 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 12-Jul-86 06:15:48 EDT
References: <201@pyuxv.UUCP> <3700003@uiucdcsp> <132@vaxb.calgary.UUCP>
Reply-To: davidsen@kbsvax.UUCP (Davidsen)
Organization: GE CRD, Schenectady, NY
Lines: 27


I have to disagree that visual languages will be the main thrust of
programming in five years, or even in twenty. Languages will be used
partially as a side effect of inertia (we always did it this way) and
partially due to "goodness of fit" to a problem. Thus COBOL remains a
staple language because it is a reasonable way to attack vertain
problems, while others are better attacked using Pascal or C.

The reason for preference (for instance C over Pascal), in many cases
is a good fit between the user's thought process and the language.
People who don't think in structured ways may find that FORTRAN is
better (for them) than other languages.

History teaches that things change slowly. The languages of the 50's
and 60's are still in use today, and I suspect that Pascal and C will
still be popular in twenty years (hopefully ADA will die :-).

-- 
	-bill davidsen

  ihnp4!seismo!rochester!steinmetz!--\
                                       \
                    unirot ------------->---> crdos1!davidsen
                          chinet ------/
         sixhub ---------------------/        (davidsen@ge-crd.ARPA)

"Stupidity, like virtue, is its own reward"