Newsgroups: alt.os.multics,alt.sys.pdp10,alt.folklore.computers,comp.lang.lisp
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!das-news2.harvard.edu!oitnews.harvard.edu!news.sesqui.net!uuneo.neosoft.com!bonkers.taronga.com!peter
From: peter@bonkers.taronga.com (Peter da Silva)
Subject: Re: Retro-Computing!
Organization: Taronga Park BBS
Message-ID: <D6JBr5.Hu1@bonkers.taronga.com>
References: <vsocciD6DErH.ADz@netcom.com> <massagja-0304950924350001@sprawl.byu.edu> <D6HILL.GAJ@bonkers.taronga.com> <vsocciD6IuJ9.46J@netcom.com>
Date: Tue, 4 Apr 1995 23:54:40 GMT
Lines: 17

In article <vsocciD6IuJ9.46J@netcom.com>,
Vance Socci <vsocci@netcom.com> wrote:
>You're too late - National Instruments and Hewlett Packard have both
>issued commercial level graphical lanaguages.

... for laboratory and other real-time control systems ...

There's an application niche where they're well suited (the people using them
are used to working with wires and components) and where they're simply an
enhancement to the tools already being used (relay ladder logic).

>Again: if typewriter languages were so great, why don't people design
>hardware with them instead of using diagrams?

You use the tool appropriate to the application domain. For general purpose
programming, that's writing. Until such time as literacy is declared obsolete
that will continue to be true.
