Re: why the pascal family of languages (Pascal, Ada, Modula-2,2,Oberon, Delphi, Algol,...) failed compared to the C family?

[Wilson <winslowleon171@gmail.com>]

On 5/27/2021 3:55 AM, ldries46 wrote:
> Op 27-5-2021 om 8:53 schreef Robin Vowels:
>> On Wednesday, July 16, 2014 at 10:25:17 PM UTC+10, Nasser M. Abbasi 
>> wrote:
>>> The first language I really liked was Pascal.
>>> But the Pascal family of languages (including Ada) have
>>> clearly failed to become popular,
>> .
>> Pascal and Algol 60 did not have string handling.
>> Algol 60 did not have a defined I/O.
> Algol 60 wasn't a programming language but a method of describing a 
> mathematical proces in such a way that you could not fail in the way you 
> used that proces. That explained the lack of communicating with the 
> outside world.
> But that made it simple to use it as a programming language. My first 
> sniff with programming was in 1966 on an Electrologica X8 which used 
> Algol 60 with its own set of I/O functions.
> Seen the fact that Algol 60 was much earlier as Pascal I would not speak 
> of the Pascal-family but the Algol 60-family
> For people interested there is on internet the Algol Reprt available.
>> I/O in Pascal was flawed.
>> .
>>> at least compared
>>> to the C-family (C, C++, C#, ....)
>>>
>>> The question is why did this happen?
>>>
>>> My theory: C was used to develop Unix/Linux and
>>> Windows, and this made it easier for applications
>>> to be written in C/C++ since the interface to the OS
>>> was easier.
>> .
>> I do not think that this has anything to with it at all.
>> .
>>> VMS did not choose C (considered a huge
>>> blunder by many. They choose Bliss
>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BLISS instead! and we
>>> all know what happens to VMS.
>>>
>>> What is your theory on this? Was there another
>>> reason or set of reasons?
>>>
>>> Can we all blame this success of the C family of
>>> languages on Dennis Ritchie and Brian Kernighan
>>> brilliance and it being used for Unix?
> 

Another reason that C became so widespread was cost.  In the 1970s many 
organizations (including universities) used the PDP 11 series of 
computers because they were cheap hardware.

Their OS for the PDP 11 on the other hand cost thousands of  dollars per 
computer whereas C and UNIX were free.  This was a bargain most owners 
found irresistibly.  Many schools made UNIX and C their standard 
educational language.  This in turn generated  graduates who only knew C 
putting pressure on employers to use C.  Alas, it quickly became was a 
self feeding runaway success.

In short, a free lunch is hard to turn down no matter what comes with it.