SYMPL
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SYMPL was a programming language developed by the Control Data Corporation for use on the CDC 6000 series computer systems in the 1970s and 1980s. It was based on a subset of CDCs version of JOVIAL, as an alternative to assembly language. A number of important CDC software products were implemented in SYMPL, including compilers, libraries, a full-screen editor, and major subsystems.
SYMPL was a compiled, imperative, and procedure-oriented language. Compared to Fortran of the day, SYMPL supported:
- Stronger data typing - All variables must be declared prior to use,
- Data structures - Including "based" dynamically allocated structures,
- Structured programming constructs,
- Nested procedures,
- In-fix "bead" (bit) and character manipulation
- A simple macro facility
Simplifications compared to JOVIAL included: fewer built-in data types, no recursive calls to procedures, and no COMPOOL concept.
