A 1992 perspective on the problems of computer programming in 1992
By
pavel_lishin
Summary
Mark Dominus shares a found document from 1992 where he reflects on IBM's decision to replace their efficient FORTRAN G compiler with a new one in the mid-1970s, using it as a lens to discuss problems in computer programming practices of that era. The article is a retrospective look at software engineering decisions and their implications.
Source
Hacker NewsA 1992 perspective on the problems of computer programming in 1992blog.plover.comKey quotes
· 4 pulledIn the middle 1970's, the IBM corporation did (and perhaps still does) most of their in-house programming in a computer language called FORTRAN.
They had a pretty good FORTRAN compiler, called the FORTRAN G compiler.
It was fast at translating FORTRAN into machine instructions, and the machine instructions it produced implemented the desired behavior fairly efficiently.
Nevertheless, IBM decided to write a new compiler.
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