COMAL (Common Algorithmic Language) is a computer programming language developed in Denmark by Benedict Løfstedt and Børge R. Christensen in 1973.
The "COMAL 80 PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE REPORT" contains the formal definition of the language.
Design
COMAL was created as a mixture of the prevalent educational programming languages of the time, BASIC, Pascal, and, at least in the Commodore versions, the "turtle graphics" of Logo. The language was meant to introduce structured programming elements in an environment where BASIC would normally be used.
History
In the early 1980s, Apple Computer won a contract to supply Apple II computers running CP/M and COMAL to Irish secondary schools.
In 1990 Thomas Lundy and Rory O'Sullivan produced the definitive text on COMAL Programming.[citation needed] They matched and compared COMAL with BBC Structured Basic.
Availability
COMAL is available for:
Examples
Conditions:
IF condition THEN instructionsENDIF
Loops:
FOR number:= 1 TO 1000 DO PRINT numberENDFOR
Print statements with variables:
INPUT "Whats your favourite number..." :nmr%CLSPRINT "Your favourite number is " ; nmr%
"Hello, world!"
10 PAGE20 FOR number:= 1 TO 10 DO30 PRINT "HELLO, WORLD!"40 ENDFOR50 END " "
Further reading
- Roy Atherton: Structured programming with COMAL. Horwood, Chichester 1982, ISBN 0-85312-416-7.
- Bramer, M. A. (1982). "COMAL 80—Adding structure to BASIC". Computers & Education 6 (2): 179–192. doi:10.1016/0360-1315(82)90031-8. ISSN 03601315.
- Børge R. Christensen: Beginning Comal. Horwood, Chichester 1982, ISBN 0-85312-435-3.
- Leuschner, Burkhard (1987). "Comal's the thing". System 15 (3): 373–376. doi:10.1016/0346-251X(87)90011-X. ISSN 0346251X.
- Len Lindsay: COMAL handbook. Reston Publishing, Reston, VA, 1983, ISBN 0-8359-0878-X.
External links
