Re: text equation

[Jim Langston <jlangston@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I tend to agree with this timeline, but you also have to
look at the fact that in the 1960's Algol would of been
considered a high level language, but if you take that same
Algol now it is considered quite a low level language.

I think that the terms low, middle and high level are two
abstract.  I think that's where the generation terms came
from.  I remember in the 70's and 80's everyone was
talking about 3rd generation languages that would come
along soon.  I guess they are here with OOPs and such.

I think I was thinking more along the lines of 3rd generation
languages being high level, 2nd generation being middle level,
and 1st generation being low level.

But heck, it's just not that simple anymore.  Languages can
just do so much and have so many differences maybe the
concepts of low level and high level languages have become
obsolete.  Although everyone would agree that Assembly would
be a low level language by any definition.

Have we come to the age where assembly is low level, and all
other programming languages are now high level?

boldt@ca.ibm.com wrote:

> <SNIP>
> 1940's - bare hardware
> 1950's - operations were abstracted - Fortran
> 1960's - control structures were abstracted - Algol
> 1970's - data structures were abstracted - Pascal, C
> 1980's - module interfaces were abstracted - Modula
> 1990's - abstraction of objects - C++, Java

<SNIP>

Remember Delphi (Pascal), VB (Basic), and just about
every language that does objects now.  Although I tend
to doubt if Fortran or Cobol does objects, and I've yet to
see an object in RPG.

Does that mean RPG is stuck in the 80's?

Regards,

Jim Langston

+---
| This is the Midrange System Mailing List!
| To submit a new message, send your mail to MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com.
| To subscribe to this list send email to MIDRANGE-L-SUB@midrange.com.
| To unsubscribe from this list send email to MIDRANGE-L-UNSUB@midrange.com.
| Questions should be directed to the list owner/operator: david@midrange.com
+---