14 Oct
2005
14 Oct
'05
11:41 a.m.
Chuck Guzis wrote:
What would you write it in? Clearly, you'd want
to be independent of a
particular software vendor, so the likes of Visual BASIC isn't an option.
You'd also want to write in a language that isn't nearing obsolesence, nor
one that's still evolving. "Niche" languages would be out of the
question,
as longevity could be a problem.
So what would it be? My vote is for FORTRAN.
Or Java; at least it's standard, strictly defined, open (in that
bytecode format etc. is documented), cross-platform, and even if it
*were* to become obsolete in x years I can't see there not being
emulators around on current hardware of the day which can emulate a DOS
/ Windows / whatever box and therefore run the compiler or runtime.
There'll likely be more people around in the future who can maintain it
versus Fortran too...
Sorry for the non-classic answer! (although I guess Java's ten years old
now, so technially on topic :)
cheers
Jules