SMALL
Small Machine Algol Like Language (SMALL), is a computer programming language developed by Dr. Nevil Brownlee of the University of Auckland.
Paradigms | Procedural, imperative, structured, object-oriented |
---|---|
Family | ALGOL |
Designed by | Nevil Brownlee |
Developer | University of Auckland |
First appeared | 1980 |
Final release | Final
/ 1985 |
Implementation language | Fortran IV, SMALL |
Platform | Mainframes: Burroughs B6700, DEC PDP-10 |
OS | TOPS-10, VM/CMS |
Influenced by | |
ALGOL |
History
The aim of the language was to enable writing ALGOL-like code that ran on a small machine. It also included the string
data type for easier text manipulation.
SMALL was used extensively from about 1980 to 1985 at Auckland University as a programming teaching aid, and for some internal projects. Originally, it was written in Fortran IV, to run on a Burroughs Corporation B6700 mainframe computer. Subsequently, it was rewritten in SMALL, and ported to a Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) PDP-10 mainframe (on the operating system TOPS-10) and an IBM S360 mainframe (on the operating system VM Conversational Monitor System (VM/CMS)).
About 1985, SMALL had some object-oriented programming features added to handle structures (that were missing from the early language), and to formalise file manipulation operations.