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OSdata.com: ALGOL 

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ALGOL
ALGOrithmic Language

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general

    nature: procedural language

    history: Originally created in 1960 as an abstract language for describing algorithms.

    IAL (International Algebraic Logic) started in 1958 as the project later renamed ALGOL 58. The theoretical definition of the language was published. No compiler available.

    ALGOL (ALGOrithmic Language) was released in 1960. Major releases in 1960 (ALGOL 60) and 1968 (ALGOL 68). ALGOL was originally intended for scientific computations.

    ALGOL is the first block-structured labguage and is considered to be the first second generation computer language. This was the first programming language that was designed to be machine independent.

    ALGOL was a highly influential programming language. Most modern programming languages are descendants of ALGOL.

    ALGOL became the most popular programming language in Europe in the mid- and late-1960s.

    ALGOL introduced such concepts as: block structure of code (marked by BEGIN and END), scope of variables (local variables inside blocks), BNF (Backus Naur Form) notation for defining syntax, dynamic arrays, reserved words, IF THEN ELSE, FOR, WHILE loop, the := symbol for assignment, SWITCH with GOTOs, and user defined data types.

    ALGOL W was created in 1966 by Niklaus Wirth. ALGOL W included RECORDs, dynamic data structures, CASE, passing parameters by value, and precedence of operators.

    ALGOL 68 in 1968 introduced the =+ token to combine assignment and add, UNION, and CASTing of types. It included the IF THEN ELIF FI structure, CASE structure, and user-defined operators.

    “ALGOL was invented by an international committee — actually by several: the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the Gesellschaft fur angewandte Mathematik und Mechanik (GAMM); and since 1958 has been overseen by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP). Intended to be a language between machine level and sophisticated programming languages, ALGOL serves programmers by translating programming statements via algebra into machine code; thus it was early called “automatic programming.” The name ALGOL is an acronym for “Algorithmic Language.” There are various dialects including ALGOL 60 and ALGOL 68.” —Language Finger, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, University of Montana.

Hello World example

BEGIN
   OUTSTRING(2, "Hello World");
END.

structure

    format: free form; block structured

further reading: books:

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    Extended Algol Primer; Volume 001; by Donald Gregory; Gregory Pub Co; June 1984; ISBN 9991595236; $40.00

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If you want your book reviewed, please send a copy to: Milo, POB 1361, Tustin, CA 92781, USA.


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    Last Updated: October 15, 2007

    Created: January 2, 1999

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