An object code for interactive applied mathematical programming

Abstract

We can consider interactive applied mathematics programming to be the teaming of a man and a machine to solve some problems in applied mathematics. The solution of the problem may in general consist of steps of operations upon data constructs which initially represented the problem description. The sequence of operations constitutes the program. In interactive programming, the sequence of operations is often performed alternately by the man and the machine, i.e., each member of the team does the part that he or it is good for. The importance of a programming language that can be used conveniently by man and machine alike to address the elements in the problem area is beyond dispute. Conveniences to the man are the naturalness and expressiveness possible in the language, while the convenience to the machine lies in the efficiency with which statements in the language may be interpreted. A programming language is chosen to strike an appropriate balance. This paper explores the machine architecture by describing the design of an object code which forms the internal representation of the elements in the programming language. The design is such that a PL/1 based language which is extended to cope with symbolic and expression manipulation can be implemented efficiently to provide statement incremental compilation and execution in a multiprogramming environment.