In article , Martin Gregorie wrote:
> My first exposure to the language was when I read Lindsey & van der
> Meulen's "Informal introduction to Algol 68".
>
> https://mcjones.org/dustydecks/archives/2012/09/23/619
>
> Have you read it?

Yes I have. Good book.

> ... its about the only book about a programming language that's made
> me laugh

IKWYM, but I've read a few that have raised a smile.

>> I also used Algol68RS on the 2980 that was installed while I was a
>> postgraduate.
>
> I didn't realise it had been ported to the 2900.

The compiler was from RSRE (RRE had become the Royal *Signals* and
Radar Establishment since Algol68R, hence 68RS) but I think ICL had a
hand in the port. Oxford University Computing Service may have been
involved in that, as well, and certainly were in the VAX port.

>> Amazing to think that Algol68 is (approximately) 50 years old! The
>> original report having been published in December 1968 and the RRE
>> compiler having been announced in 1971. It was never all that widely
>> adopted ... but influenced SO much that followed.
>
> Yes, and for my money it is still one of the best compilation and
> runtime systems I've used. The nearest rival to its crash analysis
> system I've seen was in the VME/B COBOL runtime - and both are
> streets ahead of anything the Java JVM or GNU C can offer in that
> area.

Yes, the diagnostics were brilliant.

Algol68RS implemented a modular compilation system. You could write a
module that was DECS instead of PROGRAM. The DECS module ended with a
KEEP statement, and the compiled module could be USEd in another
module/program (all fairly obvious stuff). The compiler worked out when
a module that was a dependency of your program needed to be recompiled
and handled the build automatically. Seems pretty basic stuff today,
but was amazing at the time.

I can't remember the exact syntax, but you'd write something like:

PROGRAM my prog USES foo, blah;

and foo and blah were compiled (if necessary) linked in automatically.

> Good stuff - I enjoyed reading it.

Thanks.

--
Cheers,
 Daniel.

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