FIFTH is a fictional programming language invented as a joke by John Unger Zussman. It appears in a humorous list of "lesser known languages", published in InfoWorld in 1982 and later posted to Usenet. This is the original text pertaining to FIFTH:

    FIFTH ... FIFTH is a precision mathematical language in which
the  data types refer to quantity.  The data types range from CC,
OUNCE,  SHOT,  and  JIGGER  to  FIFTH  (hence  the  name  of  the
language),  LITER,  MAGNUM,  and  BLOTTO.   Commands refer to in-
gredients such as CHABLIS, CHARDONNAY, CABERNET,  GIN,  VERMOUTH,
VODKA, SCOTCH and WHATEVERSAROUND.
 
    The many versions of the FIFTH language reflect the sophisti-
cation  and financial status of its users.  Commands in the ELITE
dialect include VSOP and LAFITE, while commands in the GUTTER di-
alect  include  HOOTCH  and  RIPPLE.  The latter is a favorite of
frustrated FORTH programmers who end up using the language.

It is a spoof of the Forth programming language.

The other languages in the list are SIMPLE, SLOBOL, VALGOL, LAIDBACK, SARTRE, C-, LITHP and DOGO.

FIFTH also appeared on a 1984 list of forthcoming Macintosh products circulated by Apple; this list identified FIFTH as a "FORTH-like language" to be marketed by Kriya Systems . FIFTH was presumably the working name for NEON, an object-oriented variant of FORTH which Kriya shipped in 1985.

External links

• Usenet post