FORTRAN: Difference between revisions
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Fortran stands for “formula translation,” and it was the first high-level programming language that [[John Backus]] developed for IBM in 1954. Released as a commercial product in 1957, Fortran remains an important programming language for scientific and mathematical programs. | |||
Fortran stands for “formula translation,” and it was the first high-level programming language that [ | |||
Fortran was a digital code interpreter, designed to approximate human language. It was not the first compiler, but it was the first to be a commercial success. Unlike early programming languages, which functioned either in machine code or assembly language, Fortran was a high-level code and did not require the same level of training, time, and patience, as it was much less prone to bugs. Fortran used words and syntax and employed a compiler to translate those sentences into assembly language or machine code that the computer could understand. | Fortran was a digital code interpreter, designed to approximate human language. It was not the first compiler, but it was the first to be a commercial success. Unlike early programming languages, which functioned either in machine code or assembly language, Fortran was a high-level code and did not require the same level of training, time, and patience, as it was much less prone to bugs. Fortran used words and syntax and employed a compiler to translate those sentences into assembly language or machine code that the computer could understand. | ||
Fortran was among a small number of high-level programming languages available in the 1950s and 1960s that could guarantee reasonable compatibility between different computer systems. Not until the popularization of the C language in the 1970s would its portability be matched. Although the Fortran I continued to compile data for twenty years, it was soon succeeded by a series of upgrades (Fortran II, III, IV, 66, 77, 90, and 95). | Fortran was among a small number of high-level programming languages available in the 1950s and 1960s that could guarantee reasonable compatibility between different computer systems. Not until the popularization of the [[C]] language in the 1970s would its portability be matched. Although the Fortran I continued to compile data for twenty years, it was soon succeeded by a series of upgrades (Fortran II, III, IV, 66, 77, 90, and 95). | ||
[[Category:Computers_and_information_processing]] | [[Category:Computers_and_information_processing]] | ||
Revision as of 15:15, 24 March 2014
Fortran stands for “formula translation,” and it was the first high-level programming language that John Backus developed for IBM in 1954. Released as a commercial product in 1957, Fortran remains an important programming language for scientific and mathematical programs.
Fortran was a digital code interpreter, designed to approximate human language. It was not the first compiler, but it was the first to be a commercial success. Unlike early programming languages, which functioned either in machine code or assembly language, Fortran was a high-level code and did not require the same level of training, time, and patience, as it was much less prone to bugs. Fortran used words and syntax and employed a compiler to translate those sentences into assembly language or machine code that the computer could understand.
Fortran was among a small number of high-level programming languages available in the 1950s and 1960s that could guarantee reasonable compatibility between different computer systems. Not until the popularization of the C language in the 1970s would its portability be matched. Although the Fortran I continued to compile data for twenty years, it was soon succeeded by a series of upgrades (Fortran II, III, IV, 66, 77, 90, and 95).
