• (Maybe OT?) The future of Programming Languages

    From pete dashwood@21:1/5 to All on Thu Nov 25 12:18:41 2021
    I came across this article in the course of my day and was prepared to
    dismiss it as ill-informed hype from some journalist.

    Instead, it is well considered and well-written by someone who has
    actual knowledge of what he is talking about.

    https://readwrite.com/2021/11/22/what-the-future-of-programming-languages-looks-like/

    Enjoy!

    Pete.
    --
    I used to write *COBOL*; now I can do *anything*...

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  • From docdwarf@panix.com@21:1/5 to dashwood@enternet.co.nz on Thu Nov 25 01:54:52 2021
    In article <j07vidFahfkU1@mid.individual.net>,
    pete dashwood <dashwood@enternet.co.nz> wrote:
    I came across this article in the course of my day and was prepared to >dismiss it as ill-informed hype from some journalist.

    Instead, it is well considered and well-written by someone who has
    actual knowledge of what he is talking about.

    https://readwrite.com/2021/11/22/what-the-future-of-programming-languages-looks-like/

    From the abovegiven URL:

    --begin quoted text:

    The Role of Low-Code and No-Code Programming

    We should also talk about the future possibilities of low-code and no-code programming. As the names suggest, these types of programming try to limit
    or completely eliminate the need for personal programming input. Most
    people are so devoid of technical knowledge they have trouble remembering
    and securing a simple password, so these types of applications have
    tremendous potential to become popular.

    --end quoted text

    ... and this caused me to ponder. I've seen articles and advertisements
    for Low-Code and No-Code solutions and the words of my first COBOL
    instructor resounded across the decades:

    'The most important part about learning computer programming is NOT
    learning how to program computers, it is learning to approach a problem in
    a logical fashion: what are we looking for? Is it here? If it isn't,
    what should we do? If it is, how do we know if it's any good? ... and so
    on.'

    So... if 'most people... have trouble remembering and securing a simple password' how can one reasonably conclude that 'most people should be encouraged to treat the company's data as each one of them sees fit'?

    (the discussion about how 'remembering' is a function of 'memory' and how 'logicking' is a function of 'something else' may be left for another
    time)

    DD

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  • From Bill Gunshannon@21:1/5 to docdwarf@panix.com on Thu Nov 25 08:42:37 2021
    On 11/24/21 8:54 PM, docdwarf@panix.com wrote:
    In article <j07vidFahfkU1@mid.individual.net>,
    pete dashwood <dashwood@enternet.co.nz> wrote:
    I came across this article in the course of my day and was prepared to
    dismiss it as ill-informed hype from some journalist.

    Instead, it is well considered and well-written by someone who has
    actual knowledge of what he is talking about.

    https://readwrite.com/2021/11/22/what-the-future-of-programming-languages-looks-like/

    From the abovegiven URL:

    --begin quoted text:

    The Role of Low-Code and No-Code Programming

    We should also talk about the future possibilities of low-code and no-code programming. As the names suggest, these types of programming try to limit
    or completely eliminate the need for personal programming input. Most
    people are so devoid of technical knowledge they have trouble remembering
    and securing a simple password, so these types of applications have tremendous potential to become popular.

    --end quoted text

    ... and this caused me to ponder. I've seen articles and advertisements
    for Low-Code and No-Code solutions and the words of my first COBOL
    instructor resounded across the decades:

    'The most important part about learning computer programming is NOT
    learning how to program computers, it is learning to approach a problem in
    a logical fashion: what are we looking for? Is it here? If it isn't,
    what should we do? If it is, how do we know if it's any good? ... and so on.'

    So... if 'most people... have trouble remembering and securing a simple password' how can one reasonably conclude that 'most people should be encouraged to treat the company's data as each one of them sees fit'?

    (the discussion about how 'remembering' is a function of 'memory' and how 'logicking' is a function of 'something else' may be left for another
    time)


    A very good point. Reminds me of the early days of HyperTalk
    on Apple. The language that was going to eliminate the need
    for programmers and let anyone write computer programs. How'd
    that work out. :-)

    There was another interesting concept he presented:

    "Special purpose languages. To date, some of the most successful
    programming languages have been ones that can be used for just
    about anything. But as our needs become more focused and more
    refined, it’s going to be more important for “special purpose”
    languages to emerge – highly concentrated programming languages
    that are exclusively good for one or two types of applications."

    Sound familiar? Do things like COBOL and Fortran come to mind?
    I have long argued that the days of domain specific languages
    were a good thing. It is also why I still advocate for COBOL
    for business applications. Once again we see the big circle.
    what was old will be new again.


    Oh yeah, I know it's an American Holiday but Happy Thanksgiving
    everyone.

    bill

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  • From Vincent Coen@21:1/5 to you on Thu Nov 25 16:51:22 2021
    Hello docdwarf!

    Thursday November 25 2021 01:54, you wrote to All:

    In article <j07vidFahfkU1@mid.individual.net>,
    pete dashwood <dashwood@enternet.co.nz> wrote:
    I came across this article in the course of my day and was prepared
    to dismiss it as ill-informed hype from some journalist.

    Instead, it is well considered and well-written by someone who has
    actual knowledge of what he is talking about.

    https://readwrite.com/2021/11/22/what-the-future-of-programming-langu
    ages-looks-like/

    From the abovegiven URL:

    --begin quoted text:

    The Role of Low-Code and No-Code Programming

    We should also talk about the future possibilities of low-code and
    no-code programming. As the names suggest, these types of programming
    try to limit or completely eliminate the need for personal programming input. Most people are so devoid of technical knowledge they have
    trouble remembering and securing a simple password, so these types of applications have tremendous potential to become popular.

    --end quoted text

    .... and this caused me to ponder. I've seen articles and
    advertisements for Low-Code and No-Code solutions and the words of my
    first COBOL instructor resounded across the decades:

    'The most important part about learning computer programming is NOT
    learning how to program computers, it is learning to approach a
    problem in a logical fashion: what are we looking for? Is it here?
    If it isn't, what should we do? If it is, how do we know if it's any
    good? ... and so on.'

    So... if 'most people... have trouble remembering and securing a
    simple password' how can one reasonably conclude that 'most people
    should be encouraged to treat the company's data as each one of them
    sees fit'?

    (the discussion about how 'remembering' is a function of 'memory' and
    how 'logicking' is a function of 'something else' may be left for
    another time)

    True and that's the difference between programmers and coders.



    Vincent

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