GCC SC approves inclusion of Algol 68 Front End • Hacker News Board

zik wrote: post #2

As a fan of Algol 68, I'm pretty excited for this. For people who aren't familiar with the language, pretty much all modern languages are descended from Algol 60 or Algol 68. C descends from Algol 60, so pretty much every popular modern language derives from Algol in some way [1]. [1] https://ballingt.com/assets/prog_lang_poster.png

> I'm pretty excited for this

Aside from historical interest, why are you excited for it?

Re: GCC SC approves inclusion of Algol 68 Front End

#15

Post by ratmice » Sun, Nov 23, 2025, 4:46 AM UTC

wahern wrote: post #10

MangoToupe wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does gcc even support go?

Until a few years ago, gccgo was well maintained and trailed the main Go compiler by 1 or 2 releases, depending on how the release schedules aligned. Having a second compiler was considered an important feature. Currently, the latest supported Go version is 1.18, but without Generics support. I don't know if it's a coincidence, but porting Generics to gccgo may have been a hurdle that broke the cadence.

Seems doubtful, given that generics and the gccgo compiler were both spearheaded by Ian Lance Taylor, it seems more likely to me that him leaving google would be a more likely suspect, but I don't track go.

Re: GCC SC approves inclusion of Algol 68 Front End

#16

Post by zik » Sun, Nov 23, 2025, 4:46 AM UTC

j2kun wrote: post #14

zik wrote: post #2

As a fan of Algol 68, I'm pretty excited for this. For people who aren't familiar with the language, pretty much all modern languages are descended from Algol 60 or Algol 68. C descends from Algol 60, so pretty much every popular modern language derives from Algol in some way [1]. [1] https://ballingt.com/assets/prog_lang_poster.png

> I'm pretty excited for this Aside from historical interest, why are you excited for it?

I've actually been toying with writing an Algol 68 compiler myself for a while.

While I doubt I'll do any major development in it, I'll definitely have a play with it, just to revisit old memories and remind myself of its many innovations.

Re: GCC SC approves inclusion of Algol 68 Front End

#17

Post by NooneAtAll3 » Sun, Nov 23, 2025, 5:01 AM UTC

any algol tutorial recommendations? just to feel what's it all about

Re: GCC SC approves inclusion of Algol 68 Front End

#18

Post by Taniwha » Sun, Nov 23, 2025, 5:08 AM UTC

zik wrote: post #2

As a fan of Algol 68, I'm pretty excited for this. For people who aren't familiar with the language, pretty much all modern languages are descended from Algol 60 or Algol 68. C descends from Algol 60, so pretty much every popular modern language derives from Algol in some way [1]. [1] https://ballingt.com/assets/prog_lang_poster.png

I would argue C comes from Algol68 (structs, unions, pointers, a full type system etc, no call by name) rather than Algol60

Re: GCC SC approves inclusion of Algol 68 Front End

#19

Post by lanstin » Sun, Nov 23, 2025, 5:17 AM UTC

Wow that is cool. Pass by name. I always wanted to try it.

Re: GCC SC approves inclusion of Algol 68 Front End

#20

Post by inkyoto » Sun, Nov 23, 2025, 5:22 AM UTC

Taniwha wrote: post #18

zik wrote: post #2

As a fan of Algol 68, I'm pretty excited for this. For people who aren't familiar with the language, pretty much all modern languages are descended from Algol 60 or Algol 68. C descends from Algol 60, so pretty much every popular modern language derives from Algol in some way [1]. [1] https://ballingt.com/assets/prog_lang_poster.png

I would argue C comes from Algol68 (structs, unions, pointers, a full type system etc, no call by name) rather than Algol60

That is indeed correct. Kernighan in his original book on C cited Algol 68 as a major influence.