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If I recall, FORTRAN was originally described by IBM as an automatic code-generation program, not as a programming language. Probably because languages didn't e
by lmkg 17y ago
If I recall, FORTRAN was originally described by IBM as an automatic code-generation program, not as a programming language. Probably because languages didn't exist at the time, and (as usual) no one had any idea what they had just created. It's actually kinda trippy to think of it this way, but they basically designed the compiler first and the language spec came about as a documentation of its function, rather than the other way around.
- enf 17y agoThe original paper published about it was called "The Fortran Automatic Coding System". They did realize, though, that they had created a language as well as a compiler: "It has two components: the FORTRAN language, in which programs are written, and the translator or executive routine for the 704 which effects the translation of FORTRAN language programs into 704 programs."
- pg 17y agoIn fact the name stands for "Formula Translation," because the math expressions were where the compiler had to work the hardest. The rest of the language was practically assembly language with syntax.