Final answer:
IBM developed PL/I to create an all-purpose programming language that could handle the needs of both scientific computing and business applications. Orthogonality in programming language design refers to a system where features can be used in any combination without interference, making the language easier to learn and use.
Step-by-step explanation:
Major Motivation of IBM in Developing PL/I
IBM developed PL/I (Programming Language One) with a key motivation to create a versatile language that combined features from both scientific computing and business data processing. PL/I was intended to be an all-purpose language that could handle the needs of various types of programming tasks, from numerical analysis and scientific computation to commercial applications such as file processing and report generation. This integration aimed to reduce the necessity for learning and using multiple programming languages for different tasks.
Concept of Orthogonality in Programming Language Design
In programming language design, orthogonality is a concept referring to the property that features of the language can be used in any combination, with each feature behaving independently of the others. It implies that a relatively small number of primitive constructs can be combined in a small number of ways to build the control and data structures of the language. An orthogonal language reduces the learning curve, as programmers do not need to memorize a vast number of rules for how features interact with each other.