Algol 68 and the GNU Algol 68 toolchain
CEME 1212 | Thu 06 Aug 5:30 p.m.–6:15 p.m.
Presented by
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Pietro is a participant in the GNU Algol 68 Working Group. A free-software hacker and programming-languages enthusiast with more than 20 years of experience across industries, from web development for EDM festivals to embedded programming for renewable-energy monitoring. By day he edits YAML to keep cloud platforms running; by night he dreams of, and works toward a future where Algol 68 gains the prominent status it deserves.
Pietro is a participant in the GNU Algol 68 Working Group. A free-software hacker and programming-languages enthusiast with more than 20 years of experience across industries, from web development for EDM festivals to embedded programming for renewable-energy monitoring. By day he edits YAML to keep cloud platforms running; by night he dreams of, and works toward a future where Algol 68 gains the prominent status it deserves.
Abstract
Algol 68 is an extremely powerful programming language, one of the most elegant and expressive ever designed, yet it has been almost entirely forgotten by modern programmers. The GNU Algol 68 Working Group is a group of hackers hellbent on achieving Algol 68 world domination. This session will explore what we are doing and how you can get involved.
The Working Group 2.1 of the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) designed Algol 68 in the 1960s/70s. The working group's goals were threefold: to design a programming language that could efficiently run on a large variety of computer architectures, to improve the communication about algorithms in the nascent field of computer science, and to aid in teaching algorithms (and programming) to students. This combination of goals led to the creation of the concept of orthogonality in programming language design and the development of two-level grammars (or van-Wijngaarden grammars) to formally describe the new language.
The session will cover: (1) the architecture of the GNU Algol 68 GCC front-end; (2) practical examples of modern build systems for Algol 68 programs and how to interface with other programming languages (eg. accessing C libraries from Algol 68); (3) the design principles guiding language extensions; and (4) opportunities to contribute to the project.
Algol 68 is an extremely powerful programming language, one of the most elegant and expressive ever designed, yet it has been almost entirely forgotten by modern programmers. The GNU Algol 68 Working Group is a group of hackers hellbent on achieving Algol 68 world domination. This session will explore what we are doing and how you can get involved.
The Working Group 2.1 of the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) designed Algol 68 in the 1960s/70s. The working group's goals were threefold: to design a programming language that could efficiently run on a large variety of computer architectures, to improve the communication about algorithms in the nascent field of computer science, and to aid in teaching algorithms (and programming) to students. This combination of goals led to the creation of the concept of orthogonality in programming language design and the development of two-level grammars (or van-Wijngaarden grammars) to formally describe the new language.
The session will cover: (1) the architecture of the GNU Algol 68 GCC front-end; (2) practical examples of modern build systems for Algol 68 programs and how to interface with other programming languages (eg. accessing C libraries from Algol 68); (3) the design principles guiding language extensions; and (4) opportunities to contribute to the project.