GRiDTask(ID:7524/)

4GL for Grid laptops 

HLL for GridSystems, developed by Hawkins who subsequently made their Grid pen-based computer, and then went on to make the Palm and the Handspring

It began as a CAI/Demo tool,  then became a fully-fledged app generator

Grid made the first laptop
References:
  • Barnett, Shawn "Jeff Hawkins: The man who almost single-handedly revived the handheld computer industry" view details Abstract: These days it seems like success won't leave Jeff Hawkins alone. The company he founded eight years ago, Palm Computing, just went for its initial public offering and soared to heights no one imagined. His second company, Handspring, founded in late 1998, makes a Palm-compatible computer that is so popular they've only recently made enough to meet the demand. He's being hailed in both the technology and mainstream press, and his name is on its way to becoming a household word like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. If he has his way, in a few years he may be known not only for his work in the field of handheld computers, but for his work in brain research.

    Extract: GRiDTask
    One of the first things Jeff created was GRiDTask, a high-level programming language optimized for creating applications on GRiD's laptops. "It was what would today be called a 'RAD,' or Rapid Application Development language," said Geoff Walker, who worked at GRiD at the time, and is currently Director of Program Management at Handspring. Walker's group was creating simple custom software to enhance the computers' value. "Jeff's GRiDTask language was an essential element of this in that it allowed us to create simple applications very quickly."

  • Morrow, Daniel S. Interview iwth Hawkins for CopmuterWorld Honors Program October 23, 2002 view details Extract: GRiDTask
    I invented this programming language called GRiDTask, which was actually quite successful in a limited way that GRiD was successful. But it kept GRiD alive. It was sort of a third generation programming language. We had all these people writing applications for it. I created this as a marketing tool and all of a sudden the sales guys were saying, ?Wait a second! That?s not a marketing tool; that?s a product!? So it turned into a product, and I said, ?All right, I guess it's mine.?
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