Programming Languages are Like Cars
Assembler : A formula I race car. Very fast but difficult to drive and maintain.
FORTRAN II : A Model T Ford. Once it was the king of the road.
FORTRAN IV : A Model A Ford.
FORTRAN 77 : a six-cylinder Ford Fairlane with standard transmission and no seat belts.
COBOL : A delivery van. It’s bulky and ugly but it does the work.
BASIC : A second-hand Rambler with a rebuilt engine and patched upholstery. Your dad bought it for you to learn to drive. You’ll ditch it as soon as you can afford a new one.
PL/I : A Cadillac convertible with automatic transmission, a two-tone paint job, white-wall tires, chrome exhaust pipes, and fuzzy dice hanging in the windshield .
C++ : A black Firebird, the all macho car. Comes with optional seatbelt (lint) and optional fuzz buster (escape to assembler). ALGOL 60: An Austin Mini. Boy that’s a small car.
ALGOL 68 : An Aston Martin. An impressive car but not just anyone can drive it.
Pascal : A Volkswagon Beetle. It’s small but sturdy. Was once popular with intellectual types.
LISP : An electric car. It’s simple but slow. Seat belts are not available.
PROLOG/LUCID : Prototype concept cars.
FORTH : A go-cart.
LOGO : A kiddie’s replica of a Rolls Royce. Comes with a real engine and a working horn.
APL : A double-decker bus. It takes rows and columns of passengers to the same place all at the same time but it drives only in reverse and is instrumented in Greek.
Ada : An army-green Mercedes-Benz staff car. Power steering , power brakes and automatic transmission are standard. No other colors or options are available. If it’s good enough for generals, it’s good enough for you. Java: All-terrain very slow vehicle.
Life Before the Computer