Kvikkalkul: the secret programming language of the Swedish Navy?

Re:Kvikkalkul: the secret programming language of the Swedis... by Zirro on Wednesday February 25, 2015 @06:45PM (#9110546)

The language appears to be fiction beyond these Usenet posts, and the same goes for the mentioned "SABINA" computer. Capital punishment, brought up as a common consequence of possessing this information in Sweden is, of course, incompatible with current Swedish society.

The Swedish Wikipedia has an article about it (describing it as likely being fiction) here: https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kvikkalkul

(I am Swedish.)

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Kvikkalkul: the secret programming language of the Swedis... by Zak on Wednesday February 25, 2015 @06:57PM (#9110590)

Capital punishment was incompatible with Swedish law at the time of the posting as well. The Swedish constitution has prohibited it since 1975, but it was long-since abolished in practice, the last execution having taken place in 1910.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_Sweden

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Kvikkalkul: the secret programming language of the Swedis... by Zirro on Wednesday February 25, 2015 @07:04PM (#9110612)

Indeed, by "current" I had the last fifty years in mind. It seemed appropriate at the time of writing given that we speak of major changes to society, but perhaps there is a better word to describe this particular period of time.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Kvikkalkul: the secret programming language of the Swedis... by schoen on Thursday February 26, 2015 @12:51AM (#9111328)

I was going to say "also, isn't the Swedish word for 'quick' snabb?" But then Wiktionary told me that there is, in fact, also a word kvick with a similar meaning.

Extra bonus: it turns out that quick/kvick is cognate with Italian/Spanish/Portuguese vivo 'alive' (which makes the older sense in "the quick and the dead" make more sense, too!).

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Kvikkalkul: the secret programming language of the Swedis... by davidweir on Thursday February 26, 2015 @02:17AM (#9111459)

In addition to "the quick and the dead", it also appears in the idiom "(cut) to the quick", meaning to cut someone deeply - usually emotionally.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cut_to_the_quick https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/to_the_quick

Take it back further, and it's cognate with bíos in ancient Greek, whence the prefix bio-.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Kvikkalkul: the secret programming language of the Swedis... by ithkuil on Thursday February 26, 2015 @04:19AM (#9111721)

In Croatian "Quicksilver" is called "Živa", which also means "alive".

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Kvikkalkul: the secret programming language of the Swedis... by V-2 on Thursday February 26, 2015 @05:59AM (#9111968)

same in Polish ("żywe srebro"). eg. http://www.filmweb.pl/film/%C5%BBywe+srebro-1986-9031

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Kvikkalkul: the secret programming language of the Swedis... by unwind on Thursday February 26, 2015 @03:37AM (#9111614)

There is "kvick", sure. But "kalkul" certainly isn't a word. The closest match would be "kalkyl". So the language seems to be named by messing up the spelling of two words, which I guess isn't impossible but still somewhat ... weird.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Kvikkalkul: the secret programming language of the Swedis... by m_eiman on Thursday February 26, 2015 @04:14AM (#9111709)

kvikkalkul sounds Norwegian rather than Swedish. It'd mean "fast calculation", more or less.

There's also Plankalkül by Zuse: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plankalk%C3%BCl

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Kvikkalkul: the secret programming language of the Swedis... by jwcacces on Wednesday February 25, 2015 @10:04PM (#9111044)

That's what they want you to believe!

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Kvikkalkul: the secret programming language of the Swedis... by Zirro on Wednesday February 25, 2015 @10:29PM (#9111109)

I suppose I'll just have to wait and see if there's some capital punishment coming my way ;-)

[ Parent | on HN ]