Power law distribution. A small percentage of the content gets a large proportion of views and attention, because it's the best content that everyone wants to see. This particular article is probably something like the top 1% of the top 1% of all the internet content about programming.

The python's one was my favorite :D.

I didn't know that, but as another commenter point out in another thread, part of he humor about pearl is that Larry Wall is really religious:

  While in graduate school at University of California, Berkeley, Wall
  and his wife were studying linguistics with the intention afterwards of
  finding an unwritten language, perhaps in Africa, and creating a writing
  system for it. They would then use this new writing system to translate
  various texts into the language, among them the Bible. Due to health
  reasons these plans were cancelled, and they remained in the United
  States, where Larry instead joined the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
  after he finished graduate school.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Wall#Education

My favourite quote:

  Lambdas are relegated to relative obscurity until Java makes them popular by not having them.

Fun, but I prefer the Molesworth one:

http://tjathurman.tumblr.com/post/64695616290/molesworth-1

(and for those who don't get the background: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigel_Molesworth )

That's brilliant, he captures it perfectly. A pity if he does no more.

  1995 - Brendan Eich reads up on every mistake ever made in designing a programming language, invents a few more, and creates LiveScript. Later, in an effort to cash in on the popularity of Java the language is renamed JavaScript. Later still, in an effort to cash in on the popularity of skin diseases the language is renamed ECMAScript.

When I first saw ECMAScript mentioned, I read it as ECZEMAscript.

Always a fun read, but it's been around a while. Should put (2009) on post title.

For a more accurate, informative and very digestible history of the evolution of programming languages, I urge you to watch this. It really is worth it!

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JxAXlJEmNMg

"There's nothing funny about IBM or FORTRAN. It is a syntax error to write FORTRAN while not wearing a blue tie."

Love it.

Lore has it that in the golden days of IBM, Casual Friday meant you could work with your suit jacket unbuttoned.

While we're calling out our favorites, I'll nominate Prolog. I know nothing about Prolog but that entry makes me laugh every time. "His goal is to create a language with the intelligence of a two year old. He proves he has reached his goal by showing a Prolog session that says "No." to every query."

Missing 2007: Google invents C.

*ALGOL

> 1958 - John McCarthy and Paul Graham invent LISP.

I can't stop laughing.

Obligatory xkcd: "Lisp Cycles"

http://xkcd.com/297/

"These are your father's parentheses..."

2008 - John McCarthy and Paul Graham invent LISP.

You are missing a parenthesis.

Are there any mostly right (and consequently no so brief) histories of programming languages online now that hopl.murdoch.edu.au is dead?

Funny. But it's so old my printout is now illegible due to coffee stains.

it's been so many years and I'm still waiting for the sequel

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