OT: This Swift thing

[Roy Smith]

In article <mailman.10852.1402154644.18130.python-list at python.org>,
 Dennis Lee Bieber <wlfraed at ix.netcom.com> wrote:

> On 07 Jun 2014 04:57:19 GMT, Steven D'Aprano
> <steve+comp.lang.python at pearwood.info> declaimed the following:
> 
> >
> >Swift is intended as a new generation *systems language*. The old 
> >generation of systems languages are things like C, Objective-C, C#, C++, 
> >Java, Pascal, Algol, and so forth. The new generation are intended to 
> >fulfil the same niches, but to have syntax and usability closer to that 
> >of scripting languages. Languages like Go, Rust, Ceylon, and now Swift.
> >
> 	Pascal as a systems language? We must have major differences what
> constitutes a systems language then...

The original MacOS was written in Pascal (both applications and kernel).  
Being able to touch memory locations or registers requires no more than 
a few short glue routines written in assembler.