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FORTRAN. Boz. Before FORTRAN. Machine language and assembly code. Programmers had many problems to overcome. Lack of instruction sets Primitive stream arrangements Extremely limited number representation. Before FORTRAN.
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FORTRAN Boz
Before FORTRAN • Machine language and assembly code. • Programmers had many problems to overcome. • Lack of instruction sets • Primitive stream arrangements • Extremely limited number representation
Before FORTRAN • Assembly and Machine required deep knowledge of how computers worked • Looping was complicated and disorganized • Few types, mainly int and char • Programming was cryptic, as was debugging
FORTRAN – FORmula TRANslator • John Backus • Designed originally for use with the IBM 704. • The compiler was optimized • Had many skeptics • Much easier to learn then Machine code or Assembly
FORTRAN – FORmula TRANslator • Statically Typed • Compiled (some iterations are still translated) • Originally a spaghetti/procedural language (FORTRAN 66/77) • Recent and current versions allow vector and object programming (FORTRAN 90/2003)
Who Used it and Why? • initially by programmers using highly numerical intensive programs. • Once people recognized its effectiveness and ease of use, it quickly became the standard for all of IBM computers • Other imperative languages were created, but FORTRAN became a
What was so special about FORTRAN? • Was the first “higher level” language • Error checking was much clearer • Instead of cryptic assembly or machine code, programmers could use algebraic notation • FORTRAN organized looping and other complex data types
Bibliography Backus, John. “The History of FORTRAN I, II, and III.” ACM SIGPLAN Notices 13.8 (1978): 165-180. Constable, George, ed. Understanding Computers: Computer Languages. Time-Life Books, Inc, 1986. “Fortran.” Wikipedia. 4 April. 2006. 4 April. 2006. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortran> Horowitz, Ellis. Fundamentals of Programming Languages. Maryland: Computer Science Press, 1984. Sebesta, Robert. Concepts of Programming Languages. California: Cummings Publishing Company, Inc. 1989.