Is anyone still programming in ObjectStar (formerly known as Huron)
Huron was a 4GL that originated in the IBM 360 mainframe world in the early 1990s, created and sold by the Amdahl Corporation. It had a proprietary interpreted language and database that people either loved or loathed, and its most notable features were its unusual Rules Language syntax, and its tight integration with its query language, where you had to code your own nested loops to effect a Join.
With the appropriate use of indirection (such as its archetypal 'CALL TABLE.RULE') it was possible to quickly create exceedingly compact, elegant and extensible solutions. It was also possible, in the wrong hands, to create nightmarish unmaintainable monstrosities that sadly proliferated, and did nothing for its reputation.
It was renamed and rebranded as ObjectStar in the mid 1990s, ported to Unix and Windows NT, and given a UI component with which it was possible to create event-driven client-server applications that would run without modification on Windows or Unix.
It never really gained the critical mass needed to become a top-tier development tool, and around the turn of the millennium it was pretty much fizzling out.
In retrospect, it's something of a historical aberration; hence my question:
Is anyone still using it?
Or has even heard of it?
Answer
I know of at least two companies in Belgium who are still using it. It is now owned by TIBCO and is called Object Service Broker