§ Mr. Warrenasked the Minister for the Civil Service what was the cost of producing the Central Computer Agency "Guide No. 7: Evaluation of Programming and Systems Techniques"; and if he will stop the distribution of the remaining copies as the information contained therein is over three years old and rather out of date.
§ Mr. Charles R. MorrisThe cost of printing and publishing the guide was £3,500, which has to date been offset by net revenue from sales of £1,250. The total cost of the evaluation upon which the published report was based was approximately £45,000. The guide was, however, only an end product: there was useful feedback into the ongoing activities of the Central Computer Agency and other Departments as the study progressed.
The object of the study was to provide guidance on the factors to be taken into account in choosing a programming language, and not a comprehensive survey of available languages. As such it appears to have been generally well received by the computing fraternity, who recognise its continuing utility and its place in a highly commended series on programming techniques. I can, therefore, see no grounds for stopping the distribution of the remaining copies.