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Originally Posted by Shao-Loki  You're right, but then, keep this in mind. The computer systems for the F-16 were designed in 1962. Or thereabouts. A computer the size of a shoebox keeps that airplane flying, as well as alerting the pilot, running "Bitchin' Betty," and handling targeting. Granted, some improvements have definitely been made over the years (all aircraft and other military technology gets upgraded periodically), but it worked in the 60's.
Further, rudimentary and experimental programming took place in the late forties using vaccuum tubes, prior to the development of the transistor.
Also bear in mind that whatever is on the civilian market is about ten to fifteen years behind the cutting edge stuff select military departments use, which is ten to fifteen years behind what's in development or on the drawing board.
Now, with that diatribe over with, some speculation. The Roswell crash occurred sometime in the late 40's (1947 IIRC). The first transistor was produced by Bell Labs in 1953. Bell was the primary communications contractor for the miliitary and U.S. Government in the early days of telecommunication (hence the handle "Ma Bell"), and as such, had a LOT of experience with electronics. They also had more technical resources and educated people on hand than the military/gov't.
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Well, there is a huge differecne between singular very specific systems and computer languages accessible by users and, well, usable for anything remotely different then what it was specifically designed for - huge.
So while it might be that the "computer system" for the F-16 was originally made in the early 60s (found no references to this, but considering it apparently first entered service in 79, I find it a stretch unless the system was modified heavily), it is hardly even usable as a comparison for this when we talk (widespread) "programming language".
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So, in a Fallout universe, having a functioning computer language wouldn't be that much of a stretch.
;-)
-Loki
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No it wouldn't be a stretch to have it, but it would be a stretch to base it off real life languages. But that is not really the main point of what I was mentioning in my post.
Having a computer language does not take into account the breaking of Fallout rules, which were my major point, such as without a high science skill for your character, you'd be able to interact with computers given your real life knowledge and not your characters knowledge, whereas a high science skill character would not if that player had no knowledge of the language.
Thus if something along this line should be implemented and it should be within the fallout framework as we know it (who know what Bethesda does to butcher it), it simply doesn't work - lest the commands are static ones shown and all interaction with the computer is done via a list instead of typed keywords, and then the idea falls to ground as it is back to how it was in the previous games, just with more interaction.