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From: art@cs.bu.edu (Al Thompson)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.pascal
Subject: Re: Help -- I'm trapped in a web of old Algol programs
Message-ID: <53790@bu.edu.bu.edu>
Date: 13 Mar 90 00:09:15 GMT
References: <5757@tekcrl.LABS.TEK.COM>
Sender: news@bu.edu.bu.edu
Reply-To: art@cs.bu.edu (Al Thompson)
Organization: Boston University
Lines: 38

In article <5757@tekcrl.LABS.TEK.COM> steves@tekchips.LABS.TEK.COM (Steve Shellans) writes:
|
|I have a body of programs written in Algol 60 for an old Data General
|computer.  I wish to convert them to run on a PC with minimum effort.
|My questions:
|
|  1. Is it possible that there exists an Algol compiler that runs on
|     a PC?  Is it supported?  Does it recognize Data General's
|     particular flavor of Algol?
|
|  2. If not, then I must convert to a modern language.

Oops.  Algol is a modern language, it's just dead now.  Algol was the
model upon which all block structured languages are based.  Wirth designed
Pascal to over come some of Algol's failings, most notably it's lack of
data structuring support.

  In talking
|     to some people, they suggested that Pascal was the closest
|     relative.  Do you agree?  Disagree?  (Someone else suggested
|     Modula-2)

Wirth designed Pascal after a careful study of the Burroughs Algol
compiler on the machine at Stanford.  Many of the things incorporated in
Pascal actually appeared as macros in the Algol compiler.

Your translation could get a little hairy if the Algol program uses some
of the language's fancier tricks e.g. dynamic arrays, or (shudder) dynamic
own arrays.  Assuming none of this fancy trickery the translation should
be doable.

|
|  3. Does there exist a conversion program from Algol to Pascal?

Probably not.  You should scout around and find a Burroughs B6700 or the
like.  It will have an Algol compiler and there are Pascal compilers that
run on them too.  So, while you won't get a strict translation you should
be able to make things happen.  Good luck, you might need it.