Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84 +MMDF+MULTI+2.11; site icdoc.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!godot!harvard!seismo!mcvax!ukc!icdoc!iwm From: iwm@icdoc.UUCP (Ian Moor) Newsgroups: net.lang Subject: Re: Algol68: Quality lives Message-ID: <189@ivax.icdoc.UUCP> Date: Mon, 25-Feb-85 16:49:05 EST Article-I.D.: ivax.189 Posted: Mon Feb 25 16:49:05 1985 Date-Received: Fri, 1-Mar-85 09:23:49 EST References: <840002@acf4.UUCP> <1105@opus.UUCP> Reply-To: iwm@icdoc.UUCP (Ian Moor) Organization: Dept. of Computing, Imperial College, London, UK. Lines: 35 Summary: Xpath: icdoc ivax In article <1105@opus.UUCP> rcd@opus.UUCP (Dick Dunn) writes: >I think ALGOL 68 HAD a lot to offer. Unfortunately, it now offers very >little. The distinction lies in the difference between language definition >and language implementation. The LANGUAGE had a lot to offer, but >programmers use IMPLEMENTATIONS of a language, not the language itself. >There were never any generally available implementations of ALGOL 68 in the >U.S. which were of usable quality for production software. The few that I >ever saw were university-research toy systems, and unfortunately they >failed to evolve. CDC produced a very good implemedntation for their machines, even including the (simulated) parallel clauses an semaphores. It had some minor differences from the standard and a very powerful separate compilation facility with cross modulr typecheck if you wanted. RSRE (the Royal Signals Research Establishment) have a portable version ALGOL68-RS. I used the precusror ALGOL68R which was running in 1972 and was very impressed by the speed and usablity (68R ran on ICL 1900's) there is a rumour that one site reported a bug early on and was told that the bug was classified ( wish I could classify some of the bugs in my programs :-). University of Cambridge produce ALGOL 68C which is portable - there are versions running on IBM/370 and DEC 10 and a cross compiler to Z80 ! This version has no garbage collection ( neither does Pascal) and no direct access transput (thats IO to non '68 programmers). Rememember "Programming's great in '68" -- Ian W. Moor The squire on the hippopotamus is equal Department of Computing to the sons of the other two squires. 180 Queensgate London SW7 Uk.