From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on inbox.vuxu.org X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.8 required=5.0 tests=DKIM_INVALID,DKIM_SIGNED, MAILING_LIST_MULTI autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 Received: (qmail 14862 invoked from network); 16 Nov 2021 14:59:42 -0000 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (45.79.103.53) by inbox.vuxu.org with ESMTPUTF8; 16 Nov 2021 14:59:42 -0000 Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id E70539C2E2; Wed, 17 Nov 2021 00:59:36 +1000 (AEST) Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 0B10F9C245; Wed, 17 Nov 2021 00:59:03 +1000 (AEST) Authentication-Results: minnie.tuhs.org; dkim=fail reason="signature verification failed" (2048-bit key; unprotected) header.d=dartmouth.edu header.i=@dartmouth.edu header.b="xEQrj7d/"; dkim-atps=neutral Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id 27BA19C29F; Wed, 17 Nov 2021 00:58:17 +1000 (AEST) Received: from mail-qk1-f180.google.com (mail-qk1-f180.google.com [209.85.222.180]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id F11F89C2E5 for ; Wed, 17 Nov 2021 00:58:11 +1000 (AEST) Received: by mail-qk1-f180.google.com with SMTP id t6so13597148qkg.1 for ; Tue, 16 Nov 2021 06:58:11 -0800 (PST) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=dartmouth.edu; s=google1; h=mime-version:from:date:message-id:subject:to; bh=/r9hXYpyyGevPnGYd9Uaqp/BbldgSVTSrCaAmFLzpeg=; b=xEQrj7d/n4rRj+vrlff6SZaVvJbjFWNrodfzE/U6Ghr5JN2KjcmAPrsbEH6IZAn7jy Lj97SplHttJTPRLBcjDaMX5IlmOYz4j8+Uv3z0EPfcZEZyUq1m4br4FwzTLT6h11XhBj 3cdi6m4PSN7VrZW7ObwWu7xoA1BcNFWjKezqbsc7+l0fJZ6J6/IXIbppCAmBCpstCZqM 0JlVI+MIcQZnKBo24QUVb63k89E3GkyLz4gpduBKoESlfQ1G3b2vkDLdDBo48FLO8FIh 06WvwFQtsY2vM8Gpo7Vf6pTkMHSbYlU2ggJgCeLTERZlcWA2MkYBNO5747d119QOFGge nGKA== X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=1e100.net; s=20210112; h=x-gm-message-state:mime-version:from:date:message-id:subject:to; bh=/r9hXYpyyGevPnGYd9Uaqp/BbldgSVTSrCaAmFLzpeg=; b=jTP7dmCRGimXpiOi0qXeqnDviOOe1CAXMzjFqyE5jle602n0VA2BATPDaNEdu3rkct O1dtCbi0OFNCg079JKPHceVJrFa4RpwmKTawplCeyUWA3eAKVhFWMM/Wmij0j+pdGUsc WxUIny8t6iIrNotSGEWrtSpbf2epy9sojZmsDPgZo8qGK8P839WAyxUPstI7vtrj0/3F ylzquyRIYkGKIJ4kUF9l1Jr//crKAEjjiwQzYBU44d/FdHW2qsiTHkktNaaFH5PuW7MY h6iho0hFRdYF/9fOyowY8QfFEnzSMgTAvqhKBnI45o3vLtecHXQlLBxbBQ8EX7UBheTg 6uqg== X-Gm-Message-State: AOAM5337bHVrM2C1VvQyQy73zdjFYWbNa1XtgvcOsi7DvSfa3+uR2wwW K00s8owlffIA2yWFWOu4T53jFn0cKyH4DG9gaY384DDwnqccGg== X-Google-Smtp-Source: ABdhPJyOqRURuyelCFhkIK+C8EhKF4aIUauiG6BxW0H62pF16X03r7qQfEh3TVvhQqN+6AUfhPrNSTf5X49oAZXKrms= X-Received: by 2002:a37:a790:: with SMTP id q138mr6402213qke.405.1637074690592; Tue, 16 Nov 2021 06:58:10 -0800 (PST) MIME-Version: 1.0 From: Douglas McIlroy Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2021 09:57:55 -0500 Message-ID: To: TUHS main list Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Subject: Re: [TUHS] Book Recommendation X-BeenThere: tuhs@minnie.tuhs.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.26 Precedence: list List-Id: The Unix Heritage Society mailing list List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: tuhs-bounces@minnie.tuhs.org Sender: "TUHS" The following remark stirred old memories. Apologies for straying off the path of TUHS. > I have gotten the impression that [PL/I] was a language that was beloved by no one. As I was a designer of PL/I, an implementer of EPL (the preliminary PL/I compiler used to build Multics), and author of the first PL/I program to appear in the ACM Collected Algorithms, it's a bit hard to admit that PL/I was "insignificant". I'm proud, though, of having conceived the SIGNAL statement, which pioneered exception handling, and the USES and SETS attributes, which unfortunately sank into oblivion. I also spurred Bud Lawson to invent -> for pointer-chasing. The former notation C(B(A)) became A->B->C. This was PL/I's gift to C. After the ACM program I never wrote another line of PL/I. Gratification finally came forty years on when I met a retired programmer who, unaware of my PL/I connection, volunteered that she had loved PL/I above all other programming languages. Doug