The Java programming language emerged roughly 25 years ago, when Smalltalk and C++ dominated. Back then it was easy to argue that the world didn't need another object-oriented programming language.

Computers need programming languages to function. That’s just a simple fact of life. However, these languages didn’t just spring up out of nowhere. They were developed by people for explicit purposes.

Bel is interesting, not least because it highlights the enduring and improbable longevity of one of the earliest high-level programming languages. That’s no small feat, especially given the ...