Software Scotland – J is for Java

Java and the virtual machine it can inhabit is a world changing language. Using it within os/2 we changed the ATM world for a while from a small software development company in Scotland. Adding internet capability to os/2 ATMs caused a stir for a while.

Software Scotland – I is for ICE

In circuit emualtors are a rare site in most software companies in Scotland but not so long ago they were an essential tool to debug and program Intel processors for programmers in Scotland.

Software Scotland – H is for HTML

Hyper Text Mark Up Language is an odd language that has changed software in Scotland significantly. Without it we wouldn’t have the rich web world we have today.

Software Scotland – G is for Google

In a short space of time Google have risen to dominate the world of search and now are beginning to create data that is there own property – maps of the world, even street maps. From the world of Software development in Scotland the only thing to do is use the services provided to get Software Scotland on the map.

Software Scotland – F is for Ferranti

No longer recognised by that name Ferranti were famous for recruiting many Software programmers in Scotland. Realtime programmers working for the defence sector were common not so long ago though numbers are now much diminished.

Software Scotland – E is for Embedded

For many years local Industry used software programmers in Scotland to write real time programs to operate in industrial environments. Assembly and machine code programmers in Scotland developed strong machine level skills to deliver the applications required.

Software Scotland – D is for Dongle

Initially dongles (as I recall) were used to ensure you couldn’t rip off expensive CAD software – they were not popular and were often cracked. In Scotland software companies now use them as a matter of course to protect comms and access to online banking applications.

Software Scotland – C is for C

Software in Scotland has been dominated by c, c++ and now c#. Flexible and efficient at times impenetrable c has created software jobs for software programmers in Scotland for years. C# looks set to ensure that the demand for c programmers in Scotland will continue.

Software Scotland – B is for Bill

Where would we be with the now retired (well almost) king of Microsoft Bill Gates. His drive and business capability has changed the world and of course along with it Scotland’s software industry (perhaps he even helped create it).

He was involved in IBM’s DOS and IBM’s os/2 before ditching that partnership to get it on with Windows. Software developers in Scotland owe a lot to Bill.

Software Scotland – A is for Apple

It seems a long time ago when Windows didn’t exist. But before Windows there were other drag and drop GUIs such as that provided by Steve Jobs at Apple. Indeed the various pitched fights between Apple and Microsoft were loud and aggressive, even from the relative distance of us developing software in Scotland back in the late 80’s.

Today Apple dominate a world distinctly different from the world that Micros0ft dominates and they do so with the style and flair that was evident in even their earlier desk top operating systems.

GUI interfaces? My first experience was GEM – it puzzled me as I didn’t have a mouse.