14 Oct
2005
14 Oct
'05
11:36 a.m.
Rumor has it that Chuck Guzis may have mentioned these words:
Here's an interesting problem.
Suppose you wanted to write an application for a manufacturing process that
will, in all probability, run for the next 30 years. No direct control of
the process itself is entailed (i.e., you don't need the program to
operation valves or run motors), but you do need this program to compute
manufacturing parameters for each customer. I/O requirements are very
modest, mostly simple keyboard and display.
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.
Honestly:
Forth. Runs on everything from a Tandy Model 100/102/200 (Heck, even some
word processors!) to new shiznit, extensible, and rather nearly
cross-platform. And, it's ontopic.
If for some inane reason, Forth isn't a contender, then I'd pick Perl
4.0.x. It's stable, still being used, and runs on equipment as old as an
Atari ST. And, I *think* it's ontopic. If not, it's really close.
Neither of those an option? Python. When in doubt, Python wins. If it
doesn't, then I'll change the rules by then. I *like* Python. ;-) It's not
on-topic, but I don't care - I'm changing the rules, remember? ;-)
Laterz,
Roger "Merch" Merchberger
--
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