ByteOnBikes@slrpnk.net to Programmer Humor@programming.dev · edit-29 days agoAI in realityslrpnk.netexternal-linkmessage-square14fedilinkarrow-up18arrow-down10
arrow-up18arrow-down1external-linkAI in realityslrpnk.netByteOnBikes@slrpnk.net to Programmer Humor@programming.dev · edit-29 days agomessage-square14fedilink
minus-squareAqarius@lemmy.worldlinkfedilinkarrow-up4·9 days agoPeople thought COBOL would let managers write code.
minus-squareAqarius@lemmy.worldlinkfedilinkarrow-up4·9 days agoIt’s by design very verbose and “English”-like, like instead of x=y*z it would go “MULTIPLY y BY z GIVING x”, the idea was that it would read almost like natural language, so that non-tech staff could understand it.
minus-squareSubArcticTundra@lemmy.mllinkfedilinkarrow-up2·9 days agoExcept that it’s not the syntax that makes programming hard, it’s the thought process, right?
minus-squarefrezik@midwest.sociallinkfedilinkarrow-up1·9 days agoYes. COBOL can be excused because it was the first time anyone was going down that path. Everything that comes later, less so.
People thought COBOL would let managers write code.
What.
It’s by design very verbose and “English”-like, like instead of x=y*z it would go “MULTIPLY y BY z GIVING x”, the idea was that it would read almost like natural language, so that non-tech staff could understand it.
Except that it’s not the syntax that makes programming hard, it’s the thought process, right?
Yes. COBOL can be excused because it was the first time anyone was going down that path. Everything that comes later, less so.