"SaPeIsMa" wrote in message
.. .
And computers were mainframes that had very few real-time applications
where you could dynamically change the data set on the fly, and
immediately recalculate. Not to mention that their processing speed was
slower than a cheap $5 calculator you pick up at Walgreens or Wal-Mart.

I remember when the mainframe group where I worked were jealous that they
had to run a compile overnight, but the "PC" group did ours with a simple
press of the "F5" key. :-)

"Tom S." wrote in message
...
"SaPeIsMa" wrote in message
.. .
And computers were mainframes that had very few real-time applications
where you could dynamically change the data set on the fly, and
immediately recalculate. Not to mention that their processing speed was
slower than a cheap $5 calculator you pick up at Walgreens or Wal-Mart.

I remember when the mainframe group where I worked were jealous that they
had to run a compile overnight, but the "PC" group did ours with a simple
press of the "F5" key. :-)


That was also true of the "mini" computers like the PDP series.
Although many ran compiled software like COBOL and FORTRAN, some ran
interpreted software, like BASIC, APL, etc
In many cases, there were libraries of compiled routines that could be
called, and the interpreted portions were simple the main logic like making
a series of calls to compiled routines.
I also remember the territorial fights between the mainframe, mini, and
desktop crowds..
I spent a lot of time as a consultant mediating separation of tasks and
responsibilities to optimize operations.