Fourth generation problems
Rommert J. Casimir · ACM SIGPLAN Notices · 1989
Fourth-Generation Languages or 4GL's [1,5] are a very special breed of languages.In a literature search on 4GL's [3], it was found that they are almost ignored in the Computer Science literature, but widely covered in the trade press and information systems journals, where the interest centers on the cost, productivity and impact on the organization rather than the syntax or semantics of 4GL's [2,4,8].A paper in which the authors have actually tried to use a 4GL is an exception [6]; It is an ominous sign that it paints a far less rosy picture than the average 4GL paper.Even the n-th rate textbook (n>=2), which is typical for languages like Fortran end Basic, is not available for most 4GL's (spreadsheets and database languages, which are sometimes included in the 4GL family, are an exception).Thus, an addendum to a well-known classification scheme for programming languages [7] might read: Fourth Generation Languages: Reputedly the best cars on the market, but you cannot make a test drive or even see a showroom model, beacause the salesman only talks to your manager.The only thing you get to see is a glossy brochure comparing this make'8 speed and gasoline consumption on freeways with other cars' in downtown traffic.