One of the first programming languages I learned in college was COBOL. Remember, never forget your period.
AI can translate code from one language to another reliably and quickly.
The way a language is structured and how it access the hardware is going to be the big issue going forward, not the particular language or it's syntax.
I was at dinner in 1983/1984 with a group of I/T professionals
Admiral Grace Hopper was the keynote speaker
And like it or not, Python.
Heck. V-Ger is still computing away 15 billion miles in outer space.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
“The Cloud” is just smart terminals accessing mainframes.
Always the KISS principle..... always.
FORTRAN is not dead yet, either.
Maybe Colossus and Guardian can work together to write a new computer language.
“””what other technologies are likely to still be in use 50 or more years”””
Well......There are two computers that, since 1977, have never been turned off.
The Voyager spacecraft use 8-track digital tape recorders (DTRs) to store scientific data, a form of magnetic tape technology, as their primary data storage, relying on this older, robust tech due to limited memory (around 69 KB) and the need to overwrite old data for new observations. These rugged tape systems, built with radiation-hardened components, has allowed the probes to function for decades in deep space, recording and playing back massive amounts of data before transmitting to Earth. Vintage tech still working in interstellar space.
The Voyager spacecraft primarily use Assembly Language for their core, low-level flight software, allowing precise hardware control, while the original ground control and analysis software used FORTRAN (specifically FORTRAN V, later updated to FORTRAN 77), with some parts recently ported to C, reflecting the technology of their 1977 launch era and ongoing maintenance needs.
“”ongoing maintenance needs””
It takes almost 24 hours for information sent from the Voyagers to reach the Earth. And another 24 hours for information/commands to reach back to Voyager.
Both Voyagers left our Solar System years ago. Just as the 3I/ATLAS comet is making a short visit to our Solar System, I wonder if some future civilization will encounter one of the Voyagers.
I own two fully functional rotary phones and two fully functional 5-1/4” floppy drives.
None of them are currently being used, but they could.
I own two fully functional rotary phones and two fully functional 5-1/4” floppy drives.
None of them are currently being used, but they could be, if necessary.
Started my computer work on Mainframes Burroughs 3500 & 3700s ...
CC EX NAP020
Hollerith Code
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RS-232
Data Terminal Ready, Data Set Ready. Old school, but it worked.
The B52 has entered the chat.
PL/1,
RPG
Those were the days (I hear!)
Eventually, some AI operated system will replace all these languages en masse and be a universal computer language that will ‘read’ all different types of code and translate it automatically into its own language................
The Telnet Protocol, terminal emulation, 5250 and 3270 over SSL, VT100 and VT220 over SSH. Been around for 50+ years, fast, simple and still gets the job done.