From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.2 (2018-09-13) on inbox.vuxu.org X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.0 required=5.0 tests=HEADER_FROM_DIFFERENT_DOMAINS, MAILING_LIST_MULTI,RCVD_IN_DNSWL_NONE autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.2 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (minnie.tuhs.org [45.79.103.53]) by inbox.vuxu.org (OpenSMTPD) with ESMTP id 494c42eb for ; Sun, 2 Dec 2018 22:18:04 +0000 (UTC) Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id E2BB1A208E; Mon, 3 Dec 2018 08:18:02 +1000 (AEST) Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 96715A1CE9; Mon, 3 Dec 2018 08:17:40 +1000 (AEST) Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id A3D68A1CE9; Mon, 3 Dec 2018 08:17:38 +1000 (AEST) Received: from viclamta40p.bpe.bigpond.com (viclamta40p.bpe.bigpond.com [203.38.21.104]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 2BDF894A37 for ; Mon, 3 Dec 2018 08:17:36 +1000 (AEST) Received: from smtp.telstra.com ([10.10.26.4]) by viclafep40p-svc.bpe.nexus.telstra.com.au with ESMTP id <20181202221733.EYSP26926.viclafep40p-svc.bpe.nexus.telstra.com.au@smtp.telstra.com> for ; Mon, 3 Dec 2018 09:17:33 +1100 X-RG-Spam: Unknown X-RazorGate-Vade-Verdict: clean 0 X-RazorGate-Vade-Classification: clean X-RazorGate-Vade: gggruggvucftvghtrhhoucdtuddrgedtkedruddvledgieelucetufdoteggodetrfdotffvucfrrhhofhhilhgvmecuuffpveftpgfvgffnuffvtfetnecuuegrihhlohhuthemuceftddtnecunecujfgurhepfffhvffukfgfgggtsehttddttddtredvnecuhfhrohhmpeffrghvvgcujfhorhhsfhgrlhhluceouggrvhgvsehhohhrshhfrghllhdrohhrgheqnecukfhppeduuddtrddugedurdduleefrddvfeefnecurfgrrhgrmhephhgvlhhopegrnhgvuhhrihhnrdhhohhrshhfrghllhdrohhrghdpihhnvghtpeduuddtrddugedurdduleefrddvfeefpdhmrghilhhfrhhomhepoegurghvvgeshhhorhhsfhgrlhhlrdhorhhgqedprhgtphhtthhopeeothhuhhhssehtuhhhshdrohhrgheqnecuvehluhhsthgvrhfuihiivgeptd X-RG-VS-CLASS: clean Received: from aneurin.horsfall.org (110.141.193.233) by smtp.telstra.com (9.0.019.26-1) id 5BB3FB500ADC283D for tuhs@tuhs.org; Mon, 3 Dec 2018 09:17:33 +1100 Received: from aneurin.horsfall.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by aneurin.horsfall.org (8.15.2/8.15.2) with ESMTP id wB2MHVO1065338 for ; Mon, 3 Dec 2018 09:17:31 +1100 (EST) (envelope-from dave@horsfall.org) Received: from localhost (dave@localhost) by aneurin.horsfall.org (8.15.2/8.15.2/Submit) with ESMTP id wB2MHUS3065335 for ; Mon, 3 Dec 2018 09:17:31 +1100 (EST) (envelope-from dave@horsfall.org) X-Authentication-Warning: aneurin.horsfall.org: dave owned process doing -bs Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2018 09:17:30 +1100 (EST) From: Dave Horsfall To: The Eunuchs Hysterical Society Message-ID: User-Agent: Alpine 2.21.9999 (BSF 287 2018-06-16) X-GPG-Public-Key: http://www.horsfall.org/gpgkey.pub X-GPG-Fingerprint: 05B4 FFBC 0218 B438 66E0 587B EF46 7357 EF5E F58B X-Home-Page: http://www.horsfall.org/ X-Witty-Saying: "chmod 666 the_mode_of_the_beast" MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed Subject: [TUHS] Happy birthday, John Backus! X-BeenThere: tuhs@minnie.tuhs.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.20 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" As every computer programmer should know, John Backus was emitted in 1924; he gave us the BNF syntax (he is the "B"), but he also gave us that FORTRAN obscenity... Yeah, it was a nice language at the time; the engineers loved it, but tthe computer scientists hated it (have you ever tried to debug a FORTRAN program that somebody else wrote?). Trivia: there is no way that FORTRAN can be described in any syntax; it is completely ad-hoc. -- Dave