HP Forum Archive 17

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FORTRAN inventor dies Message #1 Posted by Don Shepherd on 21 Mar 2007, 6:00 p.m. John Backus, retired IBM employee who invented FORTRAN, died this past Saturday. FORTRAN was the first language I used on the job (US Census Bureau, 1974). Here's to the memory of another pioneer.

Re: FORTRAN inventor dies Message #2 Posted by Egan Ford on 21 Mar 2007, 8:03 p.m., in response to message #1 by Don Shepherd PROGRAM GOODBYE WRITE(*,*)'Goodbye World!' END More info on Backus and FORTRAN: http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/builders/builders_backus.html Edited: 21 Mar 2007, 8:09 p.m.

Re: FORTRAN inventor dies Message #3 Posted by Don Shepherd on 21 Mar 2007, 8:42 p.m., in response to message #2 by Egan Ford Great example and link, Egan. And what a great article. It would seem that John Backus was to programming language as Steve Jobs was to hardware. Let's hope his work is continued by other brilliant people.

Re: FORTRAN inventor dies Message #4 Posted by Howard Owen on 21 Mar 2007, 11:42 p.m., in response to message #2 by Egan Ford Quote: We will encourage you to develop the three great virtues of a programmer: laziness, impatience, and hubris - Preface to Programming Perl, 3rd Edition Quote: Much of my work has come from being lazy - John Backus from the referenced article Great minds think alike, so it is said.

Re: FORTRAN inventor dies Message #5 Posted by Howard Owen on 21 Mar 2007, 11:49 p.m., in response to message #2 by Egan Ford Another great quote from the article: Quote: Each [new computer language] may add a gimmick or two, to automate some of the dirty work, but it’s usually done at the price of a much more complicated language. Today’s programming manuals are that thick.” He held up a thumb and forefinger. “Some of them have 500 pages." Just the introductory Java and C# books have that many pages or more today.

Re: FORTRAN inventor dies Message #6 Posted by James Biddlecombe on 23 Mar 2007, 5:42 a.m., in response to message #2 by Egan Ford Reading a couple of other biographies I hadn't realised that Backus-Naur form is named after him. James.

Re: FORTRAN inventor dies Message #7 Posted by Antonio Maschio (Italy) on 23 Mar 2007, 9:06 a.m., in response to message #6 by James Biddlecombe This demonstrates his great influence over the entire computing community... -- Antonio

Re: FORTRAN inventor dies Message #8 Posted by Karl Schneider on 22 Mar 2007, 1:03 a.m., in response to message #1 by Don Shepherd Hi, Don -- Quote: John Backus, retired IBM employee who invented FORTRAN, died this past Saturday. FORTRAN was the first language I used on the job (US Census Bureau, 1974). Here's to the memory of another pioneer. My first computer language, as well -- learned in college and used on the job in the 1980's. It's probably still the best-suited and straightforward number-crunching language available, with built-in complex-number support and minimal formalities. In fact, I have likened aspects of RPN keystroke programming to Fortran: http://www.hpmuseum.org/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/hpmuseum/archv014.cgi?read=62844#62844 -- KS

Re: FORTRAN inventor dies Message #9 Posted by Palmer O. Hanson, Jr. on 22 Mar 2007, 9:02 p.m., in response to message #8 by Karl Schneider You wrotee: quote] In fact, I have likened aspects of RPN keystroke programming to Fortran: -- KS [/quote] I didn't understand. So I read your reference and I still don't understand. Suppose that you had been asked to program the Mach Number equation in your Fortran class and you had done it by working from the inside out like you must in RPN, in line after line of boring and difficult to read code. What sort of grade would you have received. In my Fortran class back in 1968 something like that wouldn't have got me an F -- it would have got me a zero! One of the aids we used in learning to use Fortran was the Fortran Autotester by Smith and Johnson (John Wiley & Sons, 1962). Near the end the following advice is given: If anything can go wrong with a program -- it will. Do not believe in miracles -- rely on them. Smile -- tomorrow will be worse. In those days I was known for Hanson's Law of Computer Programming. "There is always onre more error. They just get more difficult to find." I was another of those engineers who learned Fortran while using a mainframe with access with punched cards-- in my case, a Sigma 5. One of things that was good about the punched cards was the punched card boxes which made excellent storage containers. The only other use I found was while teaching Sinday school. We were learning about Joshua. I picked up a couple hundred of the punched card boxes -- they were everywhere in those days. The class built an impressive wall of Jericho. Some one got to play "The Lord" and make the walls come tumbling down. We had to do it as many times as there were students in the class.

RPN programming features vs. Fortran Message #10 Posted by Karl Schneider on 22 Mar 2007, 11:53 p.m., in response to message #9 by Palmer O. Hanson, Jr. Hi, Palmer -- I stated, "In fact, I have likened aspects of RPN keystroke programming to Fortran:" You stated, "I didn't understand. So I read your reference and I still don't understand." The reference, of course, is my post of several years ago: http://www.hpmuseum.org/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/hpmuseum/archv014.cgi?read=62844#62844 Here's a lightly-edited and slightly-enhanced excerpt: I would liken keystroke programming more to the assembly-language paradigm rather than to high-level compiled language -- each line contains one operation/instruction, rather than a complete statement. However, I also believe that Fortran '66 and '77 may have served as an inspiration for the high-end programmable calculators of the mid-70's. I have noticed a number of parallels: "GTO" and "GSB" are like "GO TO" and "CALL" "ISG" and "DSE" provide the "DO" looping functions Flags are like LOGICAL variables HP-41C external labels ("LBL {alphanumeric}") are like entry points HP-41C local labels ("LBL nn or a-e") are like statement labels "END" defines a complete program, like Fortran "END" Conditional tests emulate simple "IF" statements Maybe a better word is "features", not "aspects" -- as in those programming features that have been provided in HP's upscale RPN calc's since the mid-1970's, providing structure and flexibility. Keystroke programing -- RPN or any other variety -- is more like assembly language (rather than a high-level language), as I had stated. -- KS

Re: FORTRAN inventor dies Message #11 Posted by Forrest Switzer on 22 Mar 2007, 1:13 a.m., in response to message #1 by Don Shepherd My first also. ForTran II in 1966 and into ForTran IV in 1968-69. This while serving in the Army - Blast and Shock Section, Physical Sciences Branch, Nuclear Weapons Division, Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Mississippi. July 66 thru December 69. Then back to school. Forrest

Re: FORTRAN inventor dies Message #12 Posted by Maximilian Hohmann on 22 Mar 2007, 2:38 a.m., in response to message #1 by Don Shepherd Good morning! Sad to hear that another pioneer of our trade has passed away. I think I personally owe John Backus a lot, because not only was Fortran the first programming language that I was taught, but it has helped me in earning my living for the last 20 years and still does now - and hopefully it will also tomorrow. From the point of view of the computer scientist this may not be the greatest of all computer languages, but for me as an engineer it certainly is: Clear, simple and yet fast and powerful when it comes to high precision number crunching. No wonder that many "cfd" and "cad" and "ct" and "sar" and "fem" and countless other processiong cores are still written in Fortran today. Greetings, Max

Re: FORTRAN inventor dies Message #13 Posted by Antonio Maschio (Italy) on 22 Mar 2007, 4:26 a.m., in response to message #1 by Don Shepherd Well, I'm so sad to hear this... FORTRAN was the first language I studied at the University, since then (mid 1980s) C++ wasn't at the top yet, as it's now. FORTRAN and Pascal, of course, but FORTRAN looked (and looks) to me more... professional. Maybe it's because later I became an engineer. Recently I came across some documents about Fortran history, and boys! if it's intriguing! Backus was a great genius of the XX Century. Yes, I know, this is an HP calculators Forum, but J. Backus deserves a word. -- Antonio

Re: FORTRAN inventor dies Message #14 Posted by Maximilian Hohmann on 22 Mar 2007, 6:11 a.m., in response to message #13 by Antonio Maschio (Italy) Hello! Quote: Yes, I know, this is an HP calculators Forum... Would you believe that right now I am sitting in front of an HP-unix-workstation (C3600) - maybe not exactly a "calaculator", but not far away from it! - programming in guess which :-) programming language? Greetings, Max

Re: FORTRAN inventor dies Message #15 Posted by Gerson W. Barbosa on 22 Mar 2007, 10:51 a.m., in response to message #14 by Maximilian Hohmann Hello Max, Although my preferred programming language is GW-BASIC (just kidding :-), I am glad FORTRAN is still alive. It was the second programming language I was taught (Nevada FORTRAN, 1986). Because it took me quite a long time to graduate, as I moved from a course to another, various generations of computers, computer-languages, HP-calculators ...and even professors passed me by :-) Cheers, GWBarbosa

Re: FORTRAN inventor dies Message #16 Posted by Maximilian Hohmann on 22 Mar 2007, 11:18 a.m., in response to message #15 by Gerson W. Barbosa Hello Gerson, Quote: 1. Although my preferred programming language is GW-BASIC 2. I am glad FORTRAN is still alive. 3. It was the second programming language I was taught (Nevada FORTRAN, 1986). Because it took me quite a long time to graduate, as I moved from a course to another, various generations of computers, computer-languages, HP-calculators ...and even professors passed me by :-) 1. Oh yes, GW-Basic... somewhere in my garage I still have an hp-Version of GW-Basic (with floppy disk and manual - must be as precious now as a good hp-42 from the same vintage :-) ) for my hp-150, that is also somehwere in my garage. 2. As long as CATIA (V4) is in widespread use as a CAD system, FORTRAN will live! Unfortunately, at least from the point of view of a FORTRAN purist, they chose C/C++ for the successor Catia V5. But then, I can easily program in C as if it was Fortran, much to the disgust of my goto-hating computer-scienitist-colleagues ;-) 3. For me, it was actually the first language that I was properly taught (I had taught myself to program my dad's hp-67, my own Ti-59 and the PET 2001 that they bought at school during my last year). At the computer schience department of our university (Stuttgart, Germany) we dumb aerospace engineers were not allowed to touch any of the few proper terminals, but had to use keypunches to feed our example programs into the Control Data CDC 6600 mainframe (that had been the fastest computer on German soil not long before 1982 when I took the programming course). Greetings, Max

Re: FORTRAN inventor dies Message #17 Posted by Ed Look on 22 Mar 2007, 11:58 a.m., in response to message #14 by Maximilian Hohmann Not even a year ago, I had taught the basics of FORTRAN to students as part of a chemistry course. Of course, the ONE student who had some programming experience complained, oh, so much about how primitive and uneconomical and silly FORTRAN seemed to him... ... but what other language with such power can you teach the rudiments of, to those who never even thought about programming, and in just a few weeks? I still admire the language... and yes, the man who came up with it.

Re: FORTRAN inventor dies Message #18 Posted by Giancarlo (Italy) on 22 Mar 2007, 1:11 p.m., in response to message #17 by Ed Look FORTRAN was the very first programming language they taught me when at the college - back in the end of the 80's.... There were still punched card (!!!) going around in the "computer room" full of VAX workstations - how many hours spent in front of those green pixels with a FORTRAN listing on the screen and a paper listing on the desk to take notes... Hats off to Backus. Best regards. Giancarlo

Re: FORTRAN inventor dies Message #19 Posted by Walter B on 22 Mar 2007, 5:31 p.m., in response to message #18 by Giancarlo (Italy) Me too. Also learned FORTRAN IV as first programming language, also punching - even earned some money for doing it for others in university. Heavy card punchers in a small windowless room. Big stacks of cards for just a simple matrix inversion or some Monte Carlo calculation. Green and amber screens. Mag tapes. And lots of line printer paper! Way back ... Thanks to Backus for starting it all!

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