First computer language

[Tony Arnold]

On Fri, 2005-09-02 at 14:00 -0300, Derek Broughton wrote:

> Well, we used to have real coding forms - graph paper would be a cheap
> substitute.  You have to remember (well, maybe not :-) ) that, until WatBOL
> (at least, I'm pretty sure that was the first free-format COBOL), COBOL had
> to be coded with labels in columns 1-6, a continuation character in column
> 7, actual code in 8-72, and sequence numbers in 73-80.  The coding forms
> would make it easy for the keypunch operator to get it right (because we
> used to have to give it to a secretary to get it onto the computer - one
> terminal or keypunch machine per 20 or 30 programmers).

Ah! Those were the days. My undergraduate days of Computer Science were
spent filling in coding forms or punching cards directly. It was really
great when the operators dropped your cards and they got muddled up!
Those sequence numbers were essential!

> To answer Bjørn's question, I wouldn't even try to learn COBOL.  Just
> because there's a ton of work for COBOL programmers doesn't mean you need
> to learn it.  In the first place, the amount of COBOL code _should_ be
> declining.  I doubt there's a whole lot of new COBOL development.  Also,
> I've always believed that once you can program in a couple of languages,
> you can program in anything.  With the advent of Java (yes, I know it
> wasn't the first OO language, but it was the first to really catch on),
> that changed a bit, because people familiar with many procedural languages
> still had trouble getting their minds around OO, but still if you can write
> two or three languages, you'll have no trouble figuring out COBOL.

I agree with the above about once you've learnt a couple of languages
you can write in anything (with the caveat about OO progs), however, I
would include COBOL in the exceptions to this principle! I say this
because as an undergraduate I learnt a number of languages and did very
well with all of them, except COBOL. I'm not sure of it was the language
or the transaction based problem I had to solve was the issue, but I
never did get my one COBOL program to work properly!

It's ironic, because COBOL was designed to be used by non computer
people!

Is it available for LINUX? Just curious, I have no intention of trying
it again!

Regards,
Tony.
-- 
Tony Arnold, IT Security Coordinator, University of Manchester,
IT Services Division, Kilburn Building, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL.
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E: tony.arnold at manchester.ac.uk, H: http://www.man.ac.uk/Tony.Arnold