Posted by Jay Bertolet on December 09, 2001 at 08:54:17:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Case in point posted by oli*mac also* tuba on December 09, 2001 at 05:12:01:
I don't know if it is still the case (because the last time I used a Mac was over 10 years ago, a IIe) but it used to be that the primary language that Mac programs were written in, ProDOS, was a very complex language to learn. The big advantage of ProDOS was the compact nature of any program written in it. Of course, that meant lots more work for the software creators because you had to be very efficient with your code or you couldn't get all the nice enhancements to fit on the typical 5.25 disk. That's right, of the IIe computers I saw most did not even have a hard drive. The difficulties with ProDOS were, from what I heard, one of the reasons why the Apple company nearly went out of business. As multimedia applications began to appear, ProDOS just wasn't suited to the task and it kept software developers from creating Mac counterparts to their IBM software.
Could it be this difficult code (or some other form of it) is what protects Mac users from viruses today? Could be.
My opinion for what it's worth...