Communications of the ACM
The A-Z of Programming Languages: Objective-C
Brad Cox, creator of the Objective-C programming language, says he co-developed the language with partner Tom Love as a reaction to the C language and its limitations for constructing reusable elements. "The only encapsulation tools C provides are macros and functions as building blocks for applications," he notes. "Objective-C added objects originally and packages followed thereafter." Cox also added mini-applications that comprised the Taskmaster support library.
He points out that object-oriented programming was largely unknown outside of research facilities, and he created Objective-C to take it "to the factory floor." Cox says that Objective-C protocols spurred the development of Java and related interfaces.
He says that transforming software into an engineering discipline involves construction through the assembly of trusted components, and this has motivated his pursuit of elements with various granularities, starting with objects via Objective-C and continuing with service-oriented architecture services and OSGI. He says the future of programming languages lies in the transition to tested, certified, and trusted components.
From Computerworld Australia
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