[COFF] Popular Programming languages over time

[pechter at gmail.com (William Pechter)]

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On 3/19/20 11:04 AM, Clem Cole wrote:
> I saw that a while ago.  I'd love to know more about the dataset 
> behind it as Larry asked,
>
> FWIW: Pascal/Delphi being big did not surprise me as it was what was 
> taught in the colleges in the 70s.   Today they are teaching Python 
> and Java so we see generations of new programmers going into the world 
> with those skills (like my own daughter).
>
> Larry - I think the way to explain Ada, is that it was very big for a 
> while when DoD, DoC and some of DoE when USG bids required it.  But as 
> fast as it rose, it fell pretty fast from favor.
>
Actually, since the DOD's Ada Language System was being tested on the 
dual 11/780  Vaxes I supported at Fort Monmouth in New Jersey -- the 
language was just part of what was in the works.

This was back in the 1983 timeframe.  Wikipedia shows that the DOD had a 
contract from 1977 to 1983 to come up with the OS which was supposedly 
targeted at embedded and real-time systems.

At the time there were tons of different small C-compilers used on 
different parts of the same project -- with the ton of licenses required 
for each chip and RTOS supported.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_(programming_language)#Standardization

Softech's Ada Language system had its hooks so far into VAX/VMS 3.x that 
shutting down the VAX/VMS system would crash the machine with a 
bugcheck.  I think somewhere there was a thought of a single Ada 
environment and programming tools across the various operating systems.

I think the government wanted to standardize the military deveopment 
process... which at the time used a jumble of languages, embedded 
systems and RTOS's from various vendors with convoluted make files tied 
to the development environments for each part of a military 
intelligence/weapons system.  A bit of a bitch to maintain -- any change 
to one part could keep the rest from building.

After Softech... NYU (IIRC) developed what is now known as GNAT -- the 
Gnu NYU Ada

After my DEC job I did a couple of years as a system admin along with my 
wife.  We were building a new piece of software and she had the target 
system.  Fun when the embedded C compiler 100 lines in the build script 
suddenly goes out of license complience and stops building for no real 
reason... And the sysadmin has no docs as to how this builds.

At the same time the government canceled a project to build a standard 
military computer family (chip)  which I think was the original idea and 
end target for all of this.  RCA, GE and others were trying to develop 
this but the release of the MicroVax2 kind of took the wind out of the 
sails -- and the Patriot missile (IIRC) used a Raytheon built box using 
the uVax chip set.

(Don't know if this is the board used then but it's of a similar 
timeframe)...

https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102757133

It was the Reagan admin and it was very different times in software with 
more contractors working in different locations on pieces of projects 
and the integration was difficult.

Bill


>     ---
>     Larry McVoy                  lm at mcvoy.com <http://mcvoy.com>
>     http://www.mcvoy.com/lm
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