tomr@ashtate (Tom Rombouts) (01/08/91)
(Warning - this is a "fun" post - no flames included!) Pardon me if this is an old topic in this group, but.... In Weinberg's excellent "The Psychology of Computer Programming" ( 1971 ) he alludes to an early attempt to document every known computer programming language that gave up after about 160 or so. Weinberg then speculates that the rate of creation was increasing, and wonders how many had been created altogether. Now that almost 20 additional years have since passed, are there any estimates on the total number of computer languages that have been designed to date? Here are a few ways of counting: Languages designed - _ALL_ languages set forth, including ones that are theoretical but never implemented. Languages implemented - A language that at least one interpreter/ compiler was created for and distributed to some degree. Language dialects implemented - Each brand or "dialect" of a language would count as one. (Should be restricted to "published" software or each CS compiler project would add to the total! ) (By the way, special purpose languages such as the Lotus 1-2-3 macro language or shell command languages should logically also be counted in the total.) It is my understanding that there are roughly 5,000 human languages in use today. Has the total of computer languages surpassed this figure? RELATED QUESTION: Is there any sort of document on the net listing language names followed by a brief desciption of them? (Sort of a jargon file for computer languages.) Most of the "tour of computer language" textbooks I have seen stop after about 15 or 20. Such a quick and dirty list could easily list several hundred in a reasonable space. Tom Rombouts Torrance 'Tater tomr@ashtate.A-T.com V:(213)538-7108