On Tue, 23 Nov 2021 at 03:10, wrote: > Henry Bent wrote: > > > On Mon, 22 Nov 2021 at 21:31, Mary Ann Horton wrote: > > > > > PL/I was my favorite mainframe programming language my last two years > as > > > an undergrad. I liked how it incorporated ideas from FORTRAN, ALGOL, > and > > > COBOL. My student job was to enhance a PL/I package for a History > > > professor. > > > > > > > What language were the PL/I compilers written in? > > > > Wikipedia claims that IBM is still developing a PL/I compiler, which I > > suppose I have no reason to disbelieve, but I'm very curious as to who is > > using it and for what purpose. > > > > -Henry > > PL/1 compiler for Linux: http://www.iron-spring.com/ > > PL/1 front end for GCC (looks dead): pl1gcc.sourceforge.net "Expect some more releases soon" and the last release was 0.0.whatever, in 2007. I think that speaks volumes as to how popular PL/I is today. That being said, the Linux compiler does appear to be actively developed, and I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that the two platforms for active development are Linux and OS/2 (!). I have a vague recollection of installing and playing with a PL/I compiler demo for Ultrix, but I figured that the language was essentially dead at that point. I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised that there are still people using it, as this is the world of "we wrote the specifications in 1975 and there's no reason to update them," but I have a hard time imagining those companies being truly competitive, and an even harder time imagining them attracting talent under retirement age. -Henry