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Cyhist Apr 15 1997 E
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Date: Tue, 15 Apr 1997 10:21:04 -0700
Reply-To: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> Sender: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> From: "Mark Stahlman (via RadioMail)" <stahlman@RADIOMAIL.NET>
Subject: Re: CM> Origins: fourth generation programming languages?
______________________________________________________________________
Community Memory: Discussion List on the History of Cyberspace ______________________________________________________________________
Folks:
As many have hinted, Fourth Generation Language is largely a marketing slogan ment to get around the complaint that whatever was being sold wasn't an official "standard."
At the time it came into usage, COBOL was the dominant commercial programming lanquage and it had some very significant shortcomings -- but it was quite officially standardized. So, anyone who wished to "extend" COBOL into database or graphics capabilities had to deal with being outside the standard. As usual, the marketing department turned this liability into an asset and 4GL became the cool, new thing in town.
The fact that so few of us use the terminology now (and that we are fumbling a bit to define it) is strong evidence that this is not a technical term but rather one that comes from the more "imaginative" side of the business.
Mark Stahlman
New Media Associates
New York City
newmedia@mcimail.com
______________________________________________________________________
Reply-To: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> Sender: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> From: "Mark Stahlman (via RadioMail)" <stahlman@RADIOMAIL.NET>
Subject: Re: CM> Origins: fourth generation programming languages?
______________________________________________________________________
Community Memory: Discussion List on the History of Cyberspace ______________________________________________________________________
Folks:
As many have hinted, Fourth Generation Language is largely a marketing slogan ment to get around the complaint that whatever was being sold wasn't an official "standard."
At the time it came into usage, COBOL was the dominant commercial programming lanquage and it had some very significant shortcomings -- but it was quite officially standardized. So, anyone who wished to "extend" COBOL into database or graphics capabilities had to deal with being outside the standard. As usual, the marketing department turned this liability into an asset and 4GL became the cool, new thing in town.
The fact that so few of us use the terminology now (and that we are fumbling a bit to define it) is strong evidence that this is not a technical term but rather one that comes from the more "imaginative" side of the business.
Mark Stahlman
New Media Associates
New York City
newmedia@mcimail.com
______________________________________________________________________
