What makes syntax "modern"?
Power matters more than style.
Power matters more than style.
Others have moved on.
Which is why Alsol was "a language so far ahead of its time, that it was not only an improvement on its predecessors, but also on nearly all its successors.” — Tony Hoare.
- call by name instead of call by reference
- no bitwise operators
- probably a lot more, I'm not too familiar with the language
The quote may have been closer to the truth at some point, but certainly not today. And while begin/end syntax may be a matter of taste I don't think it's coincidence it's not very common anymore.
But still, "moving on" is not always "improving upon" was the point.
[1] Well, mostly not true (the author has backed down somewhat, but the post is still illuminating as a comparison):