From Shawn Charland
Michael Brooks’s look at the proliferation of computer languages included worries about syntactical errors in software and potential dangers (8 June, p 36). There’s no need to worry too much, because such errors are picked up by programs known as compilers. Additionally, software containing these kinds of errors is the safest of all: it won’t run.
Your editorial implied that software engineers are defending a monopoly (p 5). This is far from the case. Many languages have been designed to usher outsiders into their world. Just search the web. There is a vast store of free languages, compilers and tutorials, all written by engineers to introduce people to the art.
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
