Learning Team Project
Language comparison of FORTRAN and Pascal
Programming Concepts
Abstract
The following is a research paper regarding two programming languages called FORTRAN and Pascal.
Pascal [mathematician/philosopher Blaise Pascal] was designed primarily as a tool for teaching good programming skills, but - thanks largely to the availability of Borland's inexpensive Pascal compiler for the early IBM PC - it has become popular outside of the classroom. Unlike many languages, Pascal requires a fairly structured approach, which prevents the kinds of indecipherable "spaghetti code" and easily-overlooked mistakes that plague programmers using languages such as Fortran or C. Free and commercial tools are available from various sources for DOS, Windows, Mac, OS/2, AmigaOS, and Unix-like systems. The web site editor BBEdit is written in Pascal.
Fortran ["FORmula TRANslation"] is the oldest language still in general use, dating back to 1957, the year the Space Age began. It excels at the first task computers were called on for: number-crunching. This is the language that literally put a man on the moon, and some of the features it developed in the process of that project (and other less glamorous ones) have yet to be duplicated in other, more "modern" languages.
Table of contents
« Language history and origin
FORTRAN: pg. 4
Pascal: pg. 6
« Language generation
FORTRAN: pg. 4
Pascal: pg. 6
« The language structure
FORTRAN: pg. 4
Pascal: pg. 6
« Language syntax, reading, writing, conditional decision making, Sub-routines and functions.
FORTRAN: pg. 5
Pascal: pg. 7
« Describe the languages
FORTRAN: pg. 6
Pascal: pg. 7
« References: pg. 8
FORTRAN is a programming language developed in the early 1950¡¦s. The name was produced from two words FORmula TRANslation. This is where the word FORTRAN came from. Over the evolution of FORTRANS versions have been upgraded and enhanced throughout its development. A revision of FOTRAN IV led to FORTRAN 77, there were many different versions, but the latest one is underway called FORTRAN 2008. This new version is much like FORTRAN 2003 with more capabilities and a few corrections incorporated like Co-array and BIT data type. This language was mainly designed for scientists and engineers that use FORTRAN as a big part in their field. For the past thirty years FORTRAN has helped to create bridges, aero plane structures, factory automation controls, storm drainage designs, and analysis of scientific data used by civil engineers today.
Tell us about a time you’ve used your strongest coding language. Please go into detail about how you used this technical language. If talking about a group project, be specific about your role in the final product. (Examples can include projects, coursework, competitions, websites, previous internships, etc.)
"do real programmers program in fortran?" Maybe they do now, in this decadent era of Lite beer, hand calculators and "user-friendly" software but back in the Good Old Days, when the term "software" sounded funny and Real Computers were made out of drums and vacuum tubes, Real Programmers wrote in machine code. Not Fortran. Not RATFOR. Not, even, assembly language. Machine Code.Raw, unadorned, inscrutable hexadecimal numbers. Directly.
This computer programming language is used by many businesses' computers. COBOL handles numbers and text so that businesses can produce reports and keep track of all sorts of data. It has no idea what a date is.
The programming language C++ can be used in many ways. It has exploded into the gaming community allowing PC game programmers to have access to a stabile, yet powerful, programming language, utilizing as little code as possible. It has also been used in other commercial software, such as word processors, audio players, screen savers, and other computer desktop tools.
...ere are gears used to select which numbers you want. Though Charles Babbage will always be credited with making the first “true” computer, and Bill Gates with popularizing it, Blaise Pascal will always have a place among the first true innovator of the computer. There is even a programming language called Pascal or Object Pascal which is an early computer program.
In 1984, researchers at Hiroshima University started developing the layout for what would be called visual programming languages. Currently, many programmers use textual languages, which make the user produce text (one-dimensional) which is translated into one long stream of information. The goal for visual languages was to "...bridge the chasm between high level programming and the human level" (Levialdi). The researchers wanted to create languages that could display data and programs two dimensionally and have the graphical interface look much like what would soon be a web page (McIntyre). These languages are designed to be simpler while being able to construct more complicated programs than its predecessors.
Most programming languages—such as C, C++, and Fortran—use compilers, but some—such as BASIC and LISP—use interpreters. An interpreter analyzes and executes each line of source code one-by-one. Interpreters produce initial results faster than compilers, but the source code must be re-interpreted with every use and interpreted languages are usually not as sophisticated as compiled languages.
Many different types of programming languages are used to write programs for computers. The languages are called "codes". Some of the languages include C++, Visual Basic, Java, XML, Perl, HTML, and COBOL. Each of the languages differs from each other, and each is used for specific program jobs. HTML and JAVA are languages used to build web pages for the Internet. Perl and XML can produce codes that block students from getting on certain inappropriate web pages on their school server. One of the most prominent programming languages of the day would have to be C++.
The growing need for computers and other technological inventions has made it a necessity for modern generations to use computers in all aspects of their education. With the continuing advancements in technology, life is now moving at a more rapid speed. Needing computers for everyday activities, such as school and homework, children are starting to use different forms of technology at younger ages. Children as young as age 3 must start using different computer software programs to enhance concepts they are taught in school. By introducing them to the new life skill of computers, it will better prepare them for their life ahead in the new technological era.
Programming is more fun and astonishingly useful as it build your creativity and creates new career doors for those passionate about it. Most people today don’t really know how a computer works even thou they can simply turn on a computer or a mobile phone by just clicking on some buttons or swiping a finger or two and the computer does what they want. Learning how to write computer programs will require one to understand how a computer works.
The history of the computer dates back all the way to the prehistoric times. The first step towards the development of the computer, the abacus, was developed in Babylonia in 500 B.C. and functioned as a simple counting tool. It was not until thousands of years later that the first calculator was produced. In 1623, the first mechanical calculator was invented by Wilhelm Schikard, the “Calculating Clock,” as it was often referred to as, “performed it’s operations by wheels, which worked similar to a car’s odometer” (Evolution, 1). Still, there had not yet been anything invented that could even be characterized as a computer. Finally, in 1625 the slide rule was created becoming “the first analog computer of the modern ages” (Evolution, 1). One of the biggest breakthroughs came from by Blaise Pascal in 1642, who invented a mechanical calculator whose main function was adding and subtracting numbers. Years later, Gottfried Leibnez improved Pascal’s model by allowing it to also perform such operations as multiplying, dividing, taking the square root.
Based on the number of people who use it as a language and its easy nature to learn, English is the best candidate as the global language, which should facilitate communication in the changing environment. This draws the line between English and other languages whose usage is predominant across Europe and parts of Asia. In terms of numbers and effectiveness in learning, English is more superior to other languages.
After my twelfth grade, the inherent ardor I held for Computer Sciencemotivated me to do a bachelors degree in Information Technology. Programming and Math, a paragon of logic and reasoning have always been my favorite subjects since childhood. I still vividly remember the time during my graduation,when I was successful in creating a simple calculator application as a class assignment.The joy I derived from creating something that is used by a lot of people to help them perform complex calculations,made me realize the power of computing in its true sense.It was also in my graduation that I developed an immense interest in programming languages such as Java, C++ an...
How could you be reading this paper right now without programs like Windows and Word that this was made on? Technology has become an important part of our everyday lives, meaning the people who program it have important jobs. In order to become and remain a computer programmer, a student should go to college to get a degree.
Accordingly, I received admiration from family and friends from this struggling process of adaptation. Day by day, I wrote programs, dealt with errors, rewrote programs, over and over again. The process was dull and offered no glorious anecdotes. It was the time I spent working on the most fundamental problems and the piles of books borrowed from the library that constituted the foundation of my future progress. During the debugging and reviewing, I gradually adjusted to the logic of machine, which enables me to handle different programming languages with more haste.