Selecting a Programming Language

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 deliver 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 convertable 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.

Pascal

A Volkswagon Beetle. It's small but sturdy. Was once popular with intellectual types.

Modula II

A Volkswagon Rabbit with a trailer hitch.

ALGOL 68

An Aston Martin. An impressive car but not just anyone can drive it.

LISP

An electric car. It's simple but slow. Seat belts are not available.

PROLOG/LUCID

Prototype concept cars.

Maple/MACSYMA

All-terrain vehicles.

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.