The Howdy Glossary

FOCAL-69 is a programming language developed at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) to replace Assembler and Fortran on IBM mainframe systems. It was created to provide users with an environment that allowed for writing concise, English-like commands, which were then translated into efficient machine code by the compiler. Its simplicity made it popular among educators for teaching introductory programming courses.

The language featured a unique design distinguished by its English-like command structure, making it more intuitive and human-readable compared to traditional languages like Fortran and Assembler. This approach reduced the barrier to entry for novice programmers, enhancing its appeal in educational settings. Additionally, FOCAL-69 managed to efficiently translate these commands into machine code suitable for IBM mainframe systems, bolstering its utility in scientific and engineering applications.

During its time, FOCAL-69 competed with established languages like Fortran and Assembler. Fortran was renowned for its robust features tailored to numerical computations essential in scientific computing. In contrast, Assembler provided low-level control over hardware resources needed for system-level tasks. While these languages excelled in their respective strengths—Fortran's performance optimizations and Assembler's hardware control—FOCAL-69 distinguished itself with user-friendly syntax aimed at enhancing readability and accessibility, especially beneficial for educators and novice programmers within scientific domains.