Program transferability

Abstract

During the early development of higher order languages in 1959, we were told that programs written in such languages could be run on almost any computer. Now, ten years later, we find that programs so written not only are non-transferable from one manufacturer's computer to that of another, but, in some instances, cannot be run on two computers of the same make and model with memories of different sizes. In the intervening years, computers have become much faster and the cost per operation has become much cheaper, while the cost of programming has become relatively far more expensive. Still, we do not have program transferability and millions of dollars are spent each year on the uninspiring task of reprogramming routines on additional computers.