The original ABC language, Python's predecessor (1991)

The ABC language—Python’s vintage prequel from the ’80s/’90s—just got dusted off and dropped onto GitHub, courtesy of Guido van Rossum pulling sources from CWI. Most files date to 1991, with a few tweaks as late as 1996 and 2021. There’s even a helpful intro doc making the rounds. But the plot twist? No license yet—Guido says he’ll try to negotiate an MIT-style license with original creator Steven Pemberton, and the crowd is watching like it’s courtroom TV. Meanwhile, fans noticed the “recent push to GitHub” is a headline all by itself—nostalgia meets timeline whiplash.

Then the comments exploded. One camp insists Python is a strict upgrade, roasting ABC’s “PUT … IN …” and “INSERT … IN …” as clunky and un-composable, with a cheeky jab that Guido’s English should’ve said “INTO.” Another camp wants the old-school clarity back, with one user pitching ABC-like syntax in Python: write “set b = c in a” so beginners stop mixing up assignment and mutation. And because it’s the internet, someone shouted “Where is the GIL?”—a meme about Python’s Global Interpreter Lock (the thing that limits multi-threading)—just to keep the chaos spicy. Verdict: a history drop turned comment-section cage match over design, teaching, and licensing, with a side of memes.