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What was the first methodology used when you were taught programming? | Log In/Create an Account | Top | 90 comments | Search Discussion
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  • (Score: 5, Informative) by stormwyrm on Wednesday May 23 2018, @06:55AM (5 children)

    by stormwyrm (717) on Wednesday May 23 2018, @06:55AM (#682991) Journal
    They tried letting people code in common, American English, and came up with something called COBOL. The real difficulties in programming stem not from syntax as was believed at the time. The programming world learned shortly afterwards that human natural language is actually a crummy means of expressing mathematical abstractions, which is what computer programs actually are at their core.
    --
    Numquam ponenda est pluralitas sine necessitate.
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  • (Score: 3, Funny) by VLM on Wednesday May 23 2018, @03:20PM (1 child)

    by VLM (445) on Wednesday May 23 2018, @03:20PM (#683134)

    came up with something called COBOL

    I was going to say Runaway was talking about Warhammer 40K, but now I'm intrigued by the connection between W40K and COBOL. So is the COBOL PROCEDURE DIVISION the equivalent of the God Emperor? And then by extension if Trump is the God Emperor, that means... Trump is COBOL?

    • (Score: 2) by Subsentient on Tuesday June 05 2018, @04:05PM

      by Subsentient (1111) on Tuesday June 05 2018, @04:05PM (#688906) Homepage Journal

      Yes.

      --
      "It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." -Jiddu Krishnamurti

  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by DannyB on Thursday May 24 2018, @03:16PM (2 children)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday May 24 2018, @03:16PM (#683577) Journal

    Both COBOL and AppleScript demonstrate that it is possible to make a language that managers can kinda-sorta understand. It makes them feel like they are managing better.

    AppleScript in particular can seem to be almost like English text. But it is not nearly so easy to actually write that way. You have to really understand the grammar to write AppleScript. Non coders read AppleScript and think they can write some of their own. Only to fail miserably. I don't know if that also was the case with COBOL.

    But speaking of COBOL, it's said that Java is the COBOL of the 21st century. It's true. And for the same reason: the sheer economic value of all the enterprise Java code means that the JVM platform, and JVM languages, and even the Java compiler and language itself, will be around for a long time.

    --
    The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.

    • (Score: 2) by Dr Spin on Saturday June 16 2018, @10:09PM (1 child)

      by Dr Spin (5239) on Saturday June 16 2018, @10:09PM (#694055)

      SQL can seem to be almost like English text.

      Looks are deceiving.

      --
      Warning: Opening your mouth may invalidate your brain!

      • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday June 18 2018, @02:48PM

        by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Monday June 18 2018, @02:48PM (#694522) Journal

        I was writing some SQL once, working out how to fix a problem. The (non programmer) person I was working with, kept saying things like "can't you just ask it for this", "can't you just write such and so", etc.

        Uh, no. It doesn't work that way. There is a very specific grammar and very specific rules. Well written code just looks like you can understand it by reading it. It is also possible to write bad code.

        --
        The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.