I had mostly forgotten about the bus architecture wars. The S-100 bus was another one that was very popular for a time. Every bus architecture had its manufacturing proponents, development systems, development environments. That was when computer magazines like BYTE were at their fattest--there was just so much to cover.
In about 1984 I convinced an employer to purchase a Modula-2 compiler for the PDP-11 running RSX-11M+. The vendor was Brown Boveri and Co. (now part of ABB) in Switzerland. I remember how excited I was that the package had cleared Customs, and a few days later, I had the large reel-to-reel tapes in my hand. As I recall, the project never got off the ground, to my chagrin. Imagine allowing a single developer to choose a language that way now! Paul Baumgartel --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Things seem a little slow on the list ( like I need more email :) > > Some choice bits from Dr Dobbs Journal, November 1988. > > Some you may actually have been working in IT then. ;) > > Jared > > --------------------------------------------------------- > > If a single word sums up the current state of computing, that word is > > confusion. It's hard to remember a time when the PC industry > was in a more confounding state of affairs. Now, more than ever, > there is > a bewildering array of choices in everything from > operating systems to hardware architectures. And the choices aren't > getting any easier. > > Take a look at operating systems, for example. It was only a few > years ago > that developers had a scarcity of options. There was > CP/M, AppleDOS, and a few other systems available--TRS-DOS (boy, > there's a > stab from the past) was one I worked > with--but for the most part, choices were few and the stakes > relatively > low. > > Today, developers must decide between DOS, OS/2, Unix (pick your > favorite > flavor), the Macintosh, and a host of other more > specialized alternatives. If you pick the wrong development platform, > the > results may not be a pretty sight. > > In the same sense, the Macintosh was basically the only dominant > windowing > system three or four years ago. Today, there's at > least a dozen, including Windows/Presentation Manager, the Macintosh, > > X-Windows, Rooms, GEM, and New Wave, to > mention a few. > > Now, throw in a wildcard, like Display Postscript (Steve Jobs' > choice), > and take into consideration the rumor that former > operating system rivals Digital Research and Microsoft are > considering > offering DRI's GEM application-development tool kit as a > development tool for Presentation Manager. Now you're faced with a > perplexing array of opportunities or quagmires, depending > on your perspective. > > And things are just as confusing on the hardware side. We've somehow > moved > from a couple of accepted architectures (the AT > bus and a closed-system Mac) to a plethora of standards that include > the > Micro Channel Architecture (MCA), the NuBus, and, > more recently, the Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA). > (EISA > is a 32-bit extension of the AT bus that has been > endorsed by several PC manufacturers--IBM not among them--that > supposedly > provides the performance benefits of the MCA, > yet is compatible with existing AT-bus cards.) Not to mention, last > month's introduction of Steve Jobs' NeXT workstation and the > whisperings about an 80386 machine waiting in the wings at Apple. I'm > > getting an ulcer just writing about it. > > Now consider the various incarnations and implementations of > programming > languages. Should you go with C or begin thinking > about C++? What about Modula-2? There are some powerful new Modula > compilers out there that deserve consideration, and > the renewed promise of Basic (hearken back to Bill Gates' remarks > about > Object-Basic) as a serious development platform. > > Anecdotically, a developer I know wrote a complicated Windows > application > in Pascal. He wound up rewriting the entire project > after he figured out that Modula-2 would enable him to better > accomplish > what he was trying to do. > > Regardless of what the soothsayers predicted a couple of years ago, > nothing about computing--from either the developer's or the > end user's perspective--is getting any easier. Now, I'm not > complaining > about more powerful systems, you understand, or about > the diversity of choices we're faced with today. I'll put it this > way, > it's better to be rich and healthy than sick and poor. > > The point to all of this is that developing for and porting between > different environments is no easy matter. Developers must > choose wisely and well. Some platforms won't be alive and kicking > tomorrow. For that matter, neither will developers who've > made the wrong choice. > > > -- > Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com > -- > Author: > INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Fat City Network Services -- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com > San Diego, California -- Mailing list and web hosting services > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message > to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in > the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L > (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may > also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? U2 on LAUNCH - Exclusive greatest hits videos http://launch.yahoo.com/u2 -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Paul Baumgartel INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services -- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California -- Mailing list and web hosting services --------------------------------------------------------------------- To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
