Algol Tutorial

Tutorial for ALGOL 68 (ALGOrithmic Language). We use the Algol 68 Genie compiler.

All the examples are located in the examples directory.

Getting started

1. Download an algol compiler.
   • Windows: Algol 68 Genie.
     • Rename the compiler a68g-2.8.3.exe to a68g.exe.
     • Put the compiler in a directory in your %PATH%.
2. Write the hello.a68 file with following content:

printf(($14a$, "Hello World!!!"))

3. Run the file: on Windows open a cmd and type a68g hello.a68.
4. You should see

$> a68g hello.a68
Hello World!!!

Impressive things

Algol is not very in used today, but do you know a language that can do what follows in an easier way?

Pi decimal calculation

You want to calculate pi with a lot of precision? Just do:

a68g -p "long long pi" --precision=1000

Just replace 1000 with 10000 or more!

Other examples

To continue, go to see all the examples.

Bibliography

• https://jmvdveer.home.xs4all.nl/learning-algol-68-genie.pdf

Participating

• Feel free to participate. Correct any errors. Make suggestions. Create more examples.

Author

Jean-Louis GUENEGO jlguenego@gmail.com