2d Gen is Assembler, which i can't reproduce here.
3d is C, Pascal, the unix shell langs?, Basic, Java (which is other things too.)
4th gen are tools like Delphi, VB, JBuilder, (that move one level of abstraction higher than their 3GL ancestors).
i would propose a 5th, which we are seeing now, where you move away from client-side dev. tools (Delphi, VB) to client-side/server-side combination tools, which let you write front-ends, database schema, application processes, system calls, all from the same place, in the same language... I would say Sapphire/Web, Silverstream, NetDynamics, Forte fall into this category.
I would like to see Borland enter more fully this 5th generation. Delphi and JBuilder are great, but i and colleagues need to be able to tie together the whole enterprise with one suite of tools. That's why java's great. You can do all the layers in it, and it can be used throughout the IS team. I've heard of Entera and MIDAS, but the broad level integration i don't see yet. Give me CORBA and a platform wide enough for large enterprises, and i'll be happy. :-)
Thanks for letting me ramble.
Mark |
