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It also helps that most textbooks, when they need to describe an algorithm, use an Algol 60 kind of syntax as opposed to a C kind of syntax.
Algol perhaps had the disadvantage of being far more popular among academics than among actual programmers. Perhaps for that reason Algol became the lingua franca of pseudocode, while C became the lingua franca of actual code.
(I don't know if this is fair, but I've always had the impression that Algol was a bit like Ada in its time: respected by those who used it, but a bit too kitchen-sink to be popular among implementors.)
s/like/know/ Algol perhaps had the disadvantage of being far more popular among academics than among actual programmers. Perhaps for that reason Algol became the lingua franca of pseudocode, while C became the lingua franca of actual code. (I don't know if this is fair, but I've always had the impression that Algol was a bit like Ada in its time: respected by those who used it, but a bit too kitchen-sink to be popula…
s/like/know/ Algol perhaps had the disadvantage of being far more popular among academics than among actual programmers. Perhaps for that reason Algol became the lingua franca of pseudocode, while C became the lingua franca of actual code. (I don't know if this is fair, but I've always had the impression that Algol was a bit like Ada in its time: respected by those who used it, but a bit too kitchen-sink to be popula…
For instance, why does C differentiate between for loops and while loops? Because mathematically there's a natural partition between the two: for loops correspond to primitive recursion, and while loops correspond to total recursion.
Here's another one: why are unions called unions? Because, if types are interpreted as sets, the C union is directly equivalent to the set theoretic union. Similarly, structures are directly equivalent to the Cartesian product (although they are not named appropriately).
K&R were geniuses, not only in practical programming, but in the egg-head understanding of the mathematical theory behind programming languages.
s/like/know/ Algol perhaps had the disadvantage of being far more popular among academics than among actual programmers. Perhaps for that reason Algol became the lingua franca of pseudocode, while C became the lingua franca of actual code. (I don't know if this is fair, but I've always had the impression that Algol was a bit like Ada in its time: respected by those who used it, but a bit too kitchen-sink to be popula…
Algol was the first programming language I learned in college. I also used Ada professionally for years. I believe that Ada is not at all like Algol, even though Ada was nominally based on the Algol family of languages (including Pascal). I think of Ada as a monster of a language, more like PL/I than Algol, and very difficult to learn in its entirety. Algol is an elegant language, and I think you can learn enough of…
But yes, even now when I write Ruby or Python or Go, I miss the clarity of Algol.
If you want to use it, Algol 60 an option with Dr. Racket: http://docs.racket-lang.org/algol60/
If you can tolerate a later version, there's Algol 68 Genie: http://jmvdveer.home.xs4all.nl/algol.html
Algol 60 lives on via Lisp. If you want to use it, Algol 60 an option with Dr. Racket: http://docs.racket-lang.org/algol60/ If you can tolerate a later version, there's Algol 68 Genie: http://jmvdveer.home.xs4all.nl/algol.html