The idea of using Chinese to program a base-5 computer left even Boss Huang stunned and speechless. However, upon closer thought, it was precisely the kind of idea that appealed to him.
"But I heard there's already a Chinese programming language called 'Yi Language,' though it wasn't very successful!" Huang He said.
"No, it's not like that!" Zuo Sicheng explained. "While Yi Language is a Chinese character programming language, it's essentially a character instruction set. Its roots are still in binary representation; it simply replaced English words with Chinese characters!"
Such a language was essentially a rebranding for programming languages, lacking any advanced features. Furthermore, to run it on a system, one would need to install a specialized compiler, which was cumbersome and would slow down the computer's performance.
Coupled with the need to relearn programming knowledge and adapt existing programs worldwide, Yi Language had no developmental prospects from its inception. It could be considered a product born out of necessity.
Actually, Zuo Sicheng wanted to say it was the work of an extremist, but since Boss Huang himself was the biggest extremist of all, he naturally couldn't voice such an opinion.
"But our Chinese programming is different. The programming language I've designed will be the underlying language for the Huang Jinxi chip. In the future, all chips based on our architecture must use Chinese programming. It will utilize language logic derived from Chinese and the core expressive functions of Chinese thinking, allowing each Chinese character to represent one to five different states, thereby conveying the richness of Chinese meaning as much as possible."
"This programming language is created directly from the cultural roots of Chinese, not merely a Chinese skin over English like Yi Language."
"Of course, in the future, we can also put a Chinese skin on English, overlaying an English instruction set, but the essence will still be programming in Chinese."
"However, this is likely impossible. English is a low-level language, while Chinese is a high-level language. A high-level language can be used with a low-level language skin, but it's very difficult for a low-level language to wear a high-level language skin; even if it can, it will be extremely tight."
"It's like an easily fitting a small cardboard box into a large one. But if you try to fit a large cardboard box into a small one, the small box will likely burst," Zuo Sicheng said with a smile.
"If what you say is true, then in the future, all companies using Huang Jinxi chips, and programmers coding for the chips, will have to learn Chinese!" Boss Huang licked his lips and asked.
"Indeed!" Zuo Sicheng nodded proudly. "Not only will they have to learn Chinese, but they will have to fully understand it. Otherwise, they won't be able to program proficiently using the Chinese language."
"But this will be very difficult. Perhaps only Chinese people who grew up in China from childhood, with Chinese ingrained in their bones, can freely use Chinese for their thinking. Foreigners who learn Chinese later might struggle their entire lives to reach the level of Chinese programmers!"
"Then this will increase the difficulty of promotion. Even if our chips have a technical advantage, foreign companies might be unwilling to change and comply with our Huang Jinxi chips!"
"Not to mention that foreign companies have already established a complete and sophisticated English programming system. This entire system is enormous, and they will never abandon it to start over!" Boss Huang was pleased internally, but anyone could see the immense difficulty involved.
"I initially thought this was impossible, or at least would take decades of slow development, with the Huang Jinxi five-进制 Chinese language programming system gradually replacing the current binary language programming system. This might even involve hundreds of years and a couple of world wars!" Zuo Sicheng said nonchalantly, as if the impending world wars were just a page in a history book.
However, Zuo Sicheng wasn't wrong. Once a shift in computer languages began, in order to maintain their cultural hegemony, it might indeed trigger a de facto war.
But even without the issue of computer languages, in the context of shifting powers or even civilizational changes, war is a perfectly normal occurrence.
"But after hearing you mention mobile phones today, I've had a brand new idea!" Zuo Sicheng's face lit up with excitement. "The reason we can't replace binary in the computer system is that the system is too vast and too deeply entrenched. All related companies globally have binary-related technologies; we simply cannot overcome this mountain."
"There's a cost in business called sunk cost, and this mountain represents fifty years of accumulated sunk costs, making it unmovable."
"But mobile phones are different. Mobile phones are just beginning, and there are no smartphones in the world yet. Once smartphones emerge in the future, they will inevitably replace traditional mobile phones. This is an undeveloped market, a market starting from zero."
"Therefore, if we can seize this opportunity before the market develops and start from scratch, launching Huang Jinxi mobile phone chips, along with a smartphone system based on Huang Jinxi chips, and then a complete suite of related compilation tools!"
"Then promoting Huang Jinxi chips will be entirely feasible because there are no existing mobile phone software. All mobile phone software will need to be written from scratch, meaning there are no sunk costs. Companies will be psychologically willing to accept this new programming language and won't have such strong resistance."
"In fact, I believe many small and emerging companies will be more willing to accept such a new programming language because they lack extensive technical accumulation in older programming languages and cannot compete with established companies that have decades of experience."
"But in this entirely new field of Chinese language programming, at least everyone is on the same starting line technically. Therefore, these smaller companies are actually willing to enter this race!" Zuo Sicheng spoke eloquently.
"Incredible! Truly incredible!" Boss Huang exclaimed, deeply moved. Zuo Sicheng's words were true; relying on the mobile phone industry, many emerging companies in later generations had indeed broken the monopolies of traditional enterprises and risen powerfully, much like Tencent and Alibaba did through the internet.
"But there's a problem," Liu Nian said from the side. "We're running out of time! According to our calculations, if everything goes smoothly, Apple will likely release the world's first smartphone around 2008. Once a competitor gets there first, our first-mover advantage in technology and products will be lost!"
"Unless you can deliver a mature product system before 2008!" Liu Nian added.
"Hmm, it should be before January 2007!" Boss Huang added silently.
"..." Zuo Sicheng remained silent for a moment, then said, "I'm a genius, not a god. This is impossible. I have nothing right now. The earliest it can be is after 2008. It will still take five years!"
"That's still monstrous!" Boss Huang and Liu Nian thought simultaneously. Designing chips, architecture, a completely new programming language, and even a full set of development tools and databases, and being able to produce finished products in just five years – what else could that be if not godly?
"Alright, then I'll give you five years!" Boss Huang finally slapped his thigh and said decisively. "By the end of 2009, I want to see the finished product. Do you have confidence?"
"No..." Zuo Sicheng rolled his eyes. "That's just my estimated time."
"Ahem, I have confidence in you!" Boss Huang chuckled awkwardly. "Sicheng, the company will fully support your research in smartphones. Whatever conditions you need, just ask. Anything the company can provide, it will provide for you!"
"Is that so..." Zuo Sicheng showed a sly smile. "Can I have 1,000 fresh high school graduates who scored above 130 in Chinese and above 140 in Mathematics on their college entrance exams?"
"Why do you need recent high school graduates?" Boss Huang was bewildered. He expected Zuo Sicheng to ask for high-end scientific research equipment or top-tier university talents and scholars, but instead, he asked for 1,000 college entrance exam takers. What was that all about?
There wasn't even a precedent for directly recruiting college entrance exam takers globally.
"That's because college entrance exam candidates are generally at the peak of their learning ability," Zuo Sicheng said calmly. "After three years of junior high and three years of high school education, their learning capacity has reached its zenith, unparalleled at any other stage of life."
"At the same time, they are blank slates, easy for us to train."
"As for university graduates or postgraduates, they seem to have completed their training, but current university education is very relaxed. A large portion of university students spend more time in internet cafes than in dormitories. Upon graduation, they completely lose their learning ability, ending up worse than junior high students."
"As for those pursuing master's and doctoral degrees, their research and learning abilities seem to be somewhat intact, but their thinking has become completely rigid due to binary computers and programming systems!"
"For example, 50% of my current subordinates are master's graduates, and 40% are doctoral graduates. Yet, these 90% are not as excellent as the remaining 10% of bachelor's graduates in terms of output and development achievements! Many doctoral and master's students have even suffered psychological breakdowns due to research problems."
"This is because their thinking has completely adapted to the programming mindset within the binary ecosystem. Asking them now to work with base-5 is like forcing a woman to stand and urinate; it's a very cruel thing!"
"Conversely, undergraduate students haven't learned too much yet, not in-depth enough, and can switch directions in time, achieving the highest average success rate."
"So, I was thinking, why not recruit a batch of high school students who have never been exposed to programming or related computer technologies but have strong Chinese and math skills? I can teach them myself. After a month of training, they can be directly sent to the front lines for development!"
"This way, their minds will completely operate on the logic of the base-5 computer system, undisturbed by prior knowledge, and they can conduct research more rapidly."
"After all, the base-5 computer is a completely new technological system. Regardless of whether they are master's or doctoral students, their knowledge is of no significance to me. It's better and cheaper to use high school students," Zuo Sicheng concluded.