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The debates about computer languages such as Java
that see print tend to be constant recapitulations of
what one might call, in very basic terms, marketing hype. The conceptual
framework necessary to weigh effectively the damage or
benefit of a change in course by operating system
or browser manufacturers, is often swept
aside in favor of a breezy simplified discourse that
will fill an IT professional's coffee break with
vague alarm or encouragement. Indeed, the only place
one finds much straight shooting with regard to this
language debate is in the marginalized realm of
alternate, free operating systems development, principly
Linux. For it is there that people are still imagining
future computing systems that do not assume the prevailing
deference to the mass infantilization currently doled out by Microsoft.
Languages for computer control, contrary to popular belief, have a lot in common with the so called "natural" languages. True, the effects of natuaral language are less quantifiable, as they are irreduceable to error codes and such; nevertheless the evolution of usage, modification, mutation and extinction exists for both modalities of language. Likewise, the imperial coercion of a corporation mandating that its subjects use its language will not seem unfamiliar to anyone who is even slightly familiar with empires in human history. It may prove to be the case, furthermore, that similar factors influence whether each type of language spreads and is adopted, or fades into obscurity. |
Sep-30-1999