DCP@QUABBIN.SCRC.SYMBOLICS.COM (David C. Plummer) (07/23/86)
I'm wondering if there are any social scientists that study why various aspects of computers exist the way they do. My current questions relate to languages and network protocols. Other topics include computer architectures, operating systems and I'm sure several others. Languages is an older field. I'm not really interested in a simple history of FORTRAN or BASIC or COBOL or ADA or CommonLisp. I'm more interested in the overall motivations, goals and constraints placed upon the designers, how well the result met the goals, what problems the language didn't solve, how the goals were found to be faulty, how the goals change over time (e.g., as memory and disk gets cheaper), etc. This goes all the way from conception, implementation, revision, widespread usage, evolution, etc. Networks are a newer field, but certainly has had its share of good and bad ideas. Again, I'm not interested in a simply history of the ARPAnet, LANs, etc. I'm interested in such things as the constraints under which designers use numeric encoding instead of symbolic values. Is it host language support? Is it to reduce byte count for 1970 packet charges that haven't evaporated in this the information age? Is it just historical inertia? Has anybody studied the "Not made here" syndrome? What is the cause of it? Is it simple arrogance, or do original designers plan things too specifically that can be generalized? If so, do they realize what they are doing, or does one learn to be more general as one gets older and wiser? How do protocols become imposed on people? What is the effect of the imposition? Has anybody studied possible hypocrisy among designers? For example, if a standard is to be imposed, what if it is known to be unsuitable for some organization? How many things are done because of underying, and possibly not realized, job security desires? Those are the types of questions/debates I'm interested in seeing outsider study results. I'm sure we all have opinions on some of the above. I do. Doing some soul searching to learn why one has opinions can sometimes be very enlightening. Any leads on professionals or publications that address these? Replies to me only, please. I'll redistribute replies to interested individuals. I'd be interested in actively discussing this, but I don't have time in the short term.