A new approach to the programming problem

The computing and data processing field as we know it today, that is, employing high-speed EDP equipment, although but a few years old, has grown accustomed to major advances, changes and reworkings of systems in quick succession. However, the increasing complexity of programming and of applications, together with the rapid appearance of several powerful hardware systems, has now reached such proportions as to cause considerable uneasiness and confusion. It appears sometimes that the effective lead time for preparing for a new machine has not only gone to zero but become negative. As to problems, it has become a cliche' that they are always wanted "yesterday".