Re: Low-level vs. High-level programming (was My First Computer)

[pausch@saaf.se (Paul Schlyter)]

In article <4JLLa.16295$Ei4.6679@nwrddc02.gnilink.net>,
Sam Gillett <samgillett@msn.com> wrote:
 
> Randy McLaughlin wrote ...
> 
>> How many people believe their cars would be a good way to carry hogs to
>> market?  That is why we have specialized automobiles today.  When Turing
>> postulated his engine he had no conception of what we would use computers
>> for today.  The fact that there is no "Turing-complete" law is the genius
>> of flexability.  In the 40's the only reason for computers was to calculate
>> (even if the calculations were to help break cyphers).  Computer
>> progrogramming languages are tools used to program computers.  Yesterdays
>> languages were designed to calculate, to limit todays tools limits how well
>> and how efficiently a computer can be used today.  As far as I can see
>> using computer for what they were originally used for will continue
>> forever, does that mean that we should stop using computers for anything
>> else?
> 
> That brings up an interesting thought.  The Turing machine was designed to
> break German ciphers.  Should anything that is Turing complete be able to
> break ciphers?
 
Certainly!  Could you think of any Turing complete system which would be
unable to break even simple ciphers?
 
> The original purpose of ENIAC was the calculation of trajectories.  A
> lot of people would be very bored if the only computer game available
> were Artillery!
 
:-) ....today people are so spoiled by the vast amount of entertainment
currently available....
 
Back in the days of the ENIAC, trajectories wasn't a game, it was a
serious job.  If no electronic computer could compute them, human
computers were hired to do the job - by hand computation!!!  The
electronic computer relieved them from this drudging and boring task
.... I _don't_ think the people of those times were bored by THAT!!!
 
Ahhh, hand computation .... today's computer kids are probably
unaware of what that is.  Lock them up in a chamber for a few weeks,
and tell them they'll have to compute an artillery trajectory table
until they can get out of there.  Also give them instructions on how
to computer this table, with all necessary formulas, and also an
instruction on how to do arithmetic with pencil and paper.  THAT
should teach them what boredom is!!!  <grin>
 
OTOH future generations will probably consider today's computer games
so .... primitive .... and ..... utterly ..... boring .... how on
earth could people stand playing those silly things?   <double grin>
 
-- 
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