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The Mysterious Existence of A#

Programming Language

By Seattle Web DesignPublished 3 years ago 9 min read
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Programming has become one of the most sought-after jobs in recent years, with employment rates rising exponentially and excellent pay. Companies around the world are looking for people with top-tier coding experience to work for them. Programming is the reason why applications run on phones, and is the basis of how the internet functions. Since the emergence of the world of programming, hundreds of languages have been developed, and more are still in development. We will always find ways to improve and develop languages that can run tasks the most efficiently. However, there is no way every computing language in the spiraling abyss of languages is used on a day-to-day basis. There are simply too many languages, in which most have been replaced by more effective and efficient ones. Most languages will eventually meet their end and phase-out of popularity and use.

With coding on the rise, unfortunately, there have to be some downsides. With so many languages being developed, some can find remarkable success, such as Javascript and Python. On the flip side, some are bound to fall flat. Ironically, A# (pronounced A sharp), happens to be the latter. Although some languages may have been super popular and then fall out later, A# was an outlier. It was never considered popular, and a good percentage of coders and programmers have never even heard of it. Those who have, most likely only know it by name, and have no experience coding it. However, just because a language is not popular, does not mean that it doesn’t have its purpose. A# is a unique language, as all languages are in one way or another. Even if it is practically considered a dead language, the obscure, yet straightforward ins-and-outs of A# is fascinating nonetheless.

History and Origins

The programming language was first released in 2004 when the popularity of programming was nowhere near where it is today. It was designed by Dr. Martin C. Carlisle, Lieutenant Colonel Ricky Sward, and Major Jeff Humphries. Development was started at the Department of Computer Science at the United States Air Force Academy. A# in its most updated release is designed to integrate with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005. Microsoft Visual Studio is used to develop websites, applications, and computer programs. However, its most updated release currently was almost 15 years ago at the time of writing, further signifying its age. No other later releases are listed on its home page.

Since then, AdaCore has taken over, and it has been consolidated into AdaGIDE. AdaGIDE stands for Ada GNAT Integrated Development Environment, which allows for editing and compiling of Ada programs. It supports different older versions of the operating system Windows, such as 95, 2000, and XP. However, these versions are outdated, as suggested by some of the names, which correspond to the year of release. AdaGIDE, considering the outdated versions of Windows that it supports, likely has no users today. Meanwhile, Ada is still in use, although it still does not have an overwhelming user base.

These days, A# is no longer a language that people consider learning and is rarely ever used. Many of the websites relating to A#, such as its home page and Dr. Carlisle’s website, are no longer updated. The websites do not look modern and have very little new information. It is difficult to find information about the language on the internet or even in texts in today’s world. It has been buried under almost two decades of advancement in the world of programming. Developers and coders have replaced it with other languages that they found more efficient and effective. There are not many users today, and unfortunately, that number will most likely decrease to zero in the near future.

Platforms

The platform that the language A# runs and executes on is the Common Language Infrastructure, otherwise known as CLI. The CLI is used for a multitude of languages and is a platform for application development and code execution. The Common Language Infrastructure was first started in 2000 and was later standardized by Ecma in 2001 and ISO in 2003. The CLI is developed by Microsoft, a technology company based in Redmond, Washington. They develop operating systems such as Windows, the OS that A# and AdaGIDE ran on. In collaboration with Intel and Hewlett-Packard, two other companies prominent in the tech industry, they developed the CLI. Some of the more popular languages that run on the Common Language Infrastructure include C# and C++. These languages are often used in workplaces, and finding a job opening that uses them is relatively easy. A# on the other hand is rarely ever used.

A# uses the .NET Framework, an implementation of the CLI, and a part of the .NET platform by Microsoft. The .NET Framework is used to build and run applications specifically on Windows. Although it is only compatible with Windows, .NET Core is available to other operating systems, such as Linux and macOS. Microsoft started developing the framework in the late 1990s and was first released in 2002. The Framework was the first implementation of .NET, with Core releasing in recent years, serving as its successor. The .NET framework’s last major update was version 4.8, released on April 18th, 2019. With its last release being quite some time ago, some users question its stability and support.

With .NET Core being its successor, .NET framework seemed bound to fall and no longer be supported. However, Microsoft might have not given up on it just yet. While the framework may have not received any updates within the past 18 months, Microsoft still supports many versions. Older versions like 3.5 SP1 from November of 2008, are still being supported to this day. Microsoft has a history of supporting software for many years after it has stopped receiving updates. The .NET framework does not seem to break this tradition. It is safe to say that .NET will still be around for a while given Microsoft’s hospitality for its software. Furthermore, its most used language, C#, still holds a spot as one of the most popular languages today. The .NET framework looks to not be disappearing anytime soon.

Environments and Syntax Examples

Before A# was fully integrated into AdaGIDE, A# was to run on Microsoft Visual Studio. Carlisle was excited and ambitious for the new integration, as there were many opportunities to improve it. One of them was to automatically update the project files to put extra folders within the project. Some others were to add Windows forms support, as well as autocompletion for “object.method” syntax. However, these were just simply goals, and were not yet implemented into Visual Studio at the time. On the implementation page, it bluntly calls it “a simple integration.” It is still awesome to be able to run and debug A# code in a new environment.

After AdaCore took over, they announced a beta program of GNAT. In the rather outdated AdaGIDE environment by today’s standards, there are still a lot of redeeming qualities. For example, AdaGIDE came with a spell checker, to check for possible errors in code due to simple spelling mistakes. Mistakes would be highlighted in red in the debugging section after attempting to run. It also came with automatic reformatting of code, as well as a standard Windows interface for familiarity. These were some of the key features that made AdaGIDE special compared to other environments. The picture below from the AdaGIDE home page shows loops of code being written within the AdaGIDE environment. Although it may look way out of date, remember that this is from an entire different era of coding.

Trends and Usage Stats

Slightly hinted before, A# has decreased in popularity, despite programming jobs opening faster than employees can fill them. The computer science industry is exponentially growing and improving every year, and unfortunately, sometimes that means leaving behind programming languages. A# is being left further in the dust as it virtually has almost no users today. In fact, it may as well be considered a dead language.

Since its release in 2004, A# lost its purpose in the programming world, and other languages have filled the gaps. The home page for A# has a tracker for the number of visits on the site since May 16th, 2006. It has been accessed 70,310 times as of March 1st, 2021, equating to less than five thousand per year. That is really low considering the fact that the programming industry has skyrocketed in recent years. Although A# isn’t exactly considered the standard today, the statistics also show that it wasn’t very popular back then either.

Popular languages such as Python and Javascript, for example, have millions of users. Software developers and engineers are coding with these languages professionally at numerous jobs and workplaces around the world. On the other hand, there are no jobs that code use A#, even as a side language. A# is simply inferior in today’s world, and many programmers prefer other, more up-to-date languages. Not only is A# relatively difficult to use, it simply just isn’t updated. It does not support newer versions of Windows, and is no longer being updated at all. Those who know how to code A# may only be doing so for fun, if there are even people left.

Takeaway

In essence, A# may be remembered by name, but likely will be forgotten within years. There isn’t a whole lot of information surrounding the language, since it has been topped by other languages. Its mere history is lackluster and downright embarrassing compared to popular languages today. Its zenith is nowhere near close to popular languages today. Unfortunately, similar to spoken languages we humans use to communicate, programming languages can also disappear and never be remembered. What is left of A# will most likely fade in the near future.

Although anything can be found on the internet, A# was a language that emerged before the web started to increase in popularity. Therefore, not much history is documented to chatter about. Although one can be new to programming, most people have heard of languages such as Javascript or C++. On the contrary, it is extremely rare for a new, young programmer to even know A# by name. Coding can be extremely rewarding and fun, as it allows for cooperation between your peers to solve problems and tasks. However, A# will not be the language that new coders will be learning anytime soon. A# is just another dead language that will be remembered as an outlier in the programming world.

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Seattle Web Design

Seattle Web Design and Online Marketing agency provides a range of web related services to businesses and professionals.

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