Programming languages exist to make programming easy

We create programming languages to make programming easy.

After the invention of the electronic computer, we invented FORTRAN and COBOL. Both languages made the act of programming easy. (Easier than assembly language, the only other game in town.) FORTRAN made it easy to perform numeric computations, and despite the horror of its input/output methods, it also made it easier to read and write numerical values. COBOL also made it easy to perform computations and input/output operations; it was slanted towards structured data (records containing fields) and readability (longer variable names, and verbose language keywords).

After the invention of time-sharing (and a shortage of skilled programmers), we invented BASIC, a teaching language that linguistically sat between FORTRAN and COBOL.

After the invention of minicomputers (and the ability for schools and research groups to purchase them), we invented the C language, which combined structured programming concepts from Algol and Pascal with the low-level access of assembly language. The combination allowed researchers to connect computers to laboratory equipment and write efficient programs for processing data.

After the invention of graphics terminals and PCs, we invented Microsoft Windows and the Visual Basic language to program applications in Windows. The earlier languages of C and C++ made programming in Windows possible, but Visual Basic was the language that made it easy.

After PCs became powerful enough, we invented Java, which leverage the power to run interpreted byte-code programs, but also (and more significantly) handle threaded applications. Support for threading was built into the Java language.

With the invention of networking, we created HTML and web browsers and Javascript.

I have left out equipment (microcomputers with CP/M, the Xerox Alto, the Apple Macintosh) and languages (LISP, RPG, C#, and others). I'm looking at the large trend using a few data points. If your favorite computer or language is missing, please forgive my arbitrary selections.

We create languages to make tasks easier for ourselves. As we develop new hardware, larger data sets, and new ways of connecting data and devices, we need new languages to handle the capabilities of these new inventions.

Looking forward, what can we see? What new hardware will stimulate the creation of new languages?

Cloud computing is big, and will lead to creative solutions. We're already seeing new languages that have increased rigor in the form of functional programming. We moved from non-structured programming to structured programming to object-oriented programming; in the future I expect us to move to functional programming. Functional programming is a good fit for cloud computing, with its immutable objects and no-side-effect functions.

Mobile programming is popular, but I don't expect a language for mobile apps. Instead, I expect new languages for mobile devices. The Java, C#, and Objective-C languages (from Google, Microsoft, and Apple, respectively) will mutate into languages better suited to small, mobile devices that must run applications in a secure manner. I expect that security, not performance, will be the driver for change.

Big data is on the rise. We'll see new languages to handle the collection, synchronization, querying, and analysis of large data sets. The language 'Processing' is a start in that direction, letting us render data in a visual form. The invention of NoSQL databases is also a start; look for a 'NoSQL standard' language (or possibly several).

The new languages will allow us to handle new challenges. But that doesn't mean that the old languages will go away. Those languages were designed to handle specific challenges, and they handle them well. So well that new languages have not displaced them. (Billing systems are still in COBOL, scientists still use Fortran, and lots of Microsoft Windows applications are still running in Visual Basic.) New languages are optimized for different criteria and cannot always handle the older tasks; I would not want to write a billing system in C, for example.

As the 'space' of our challenges expands, we invent languages to fill that space. Let's invent some languages and meet some new challenges!