Inventor of the Pascal Program – When it comes to programming languages, Pascal is one of the things that is often used by most programmers. Where the programming language is a standard instruction or command that is used and utilized to govern the computer.
Anyone know, what is the Pascal program and who invented it? If Sinaumed’s is someone who is interested in getting involved in the world of programming, of course he is no stranger to this. Now here, the author will explain about the inventor of the Pascal program and a complete explanation of the Pascal program itself. So, for curious Sinaumed’s, read this article until it’s finished.
Inventor of the Pascal Program and its Brief History
Starting in 1971, Professor named Niklaus Wirth from the Technical University of Zurich, Switzerland, introduced the Pascal program for the first time. The term Pascal is taken from the name of a mathematician from France, namely Blaise Pascal. He created the Pascal programming language with the aim of being used as a programming learning aid for his students.
The program was also used to complement the deficiencies of the programming languages that existed at that time. In general, Pascal is a programming language that has a high level level or High Level Language and has structured and very systematic instructions.
In addition, Pascal also has standard data types and is available in most programming languages. Pascal’s standard data types are boolean, real, integer, char, and string. Apart from these types, Pascal also supports User defined Data Types. This is a programmer can create data types that are derived from standard data types.
In the Pascal program, the programmer must determine the type of data derived from a variable. Where this variable cannot be used to store other data types that do not come from a predetermined format. There are some exceptions related to data types, namely real data types that can be used to store integer data types or become real data.
Similarly, the string data type can store char type data. The syntax in Pascal can be broken down into functions and procedures. So that it can be used repeatedly. With a simple or simple structure and having a language that is almost similar to everyday human language (English), making the Pascal program easier to learn.
In the Pascal programming language, there is no difference between uppercase and lowercase letters (not case sensitive). So the way to write START syntax is the same as start or start writing. This also applies to all reserve words or reverse words and variables. The Pascal language is also classified as the language used as the standard programming language for the Indonesian Computer Olympiad national team or TOKI. Not only that, the Pascal language is also still used in the International Olympiad in Informatics or IOI.
Here is an example of a Pascal program:
Search_Area_Segitiga Program;
Const
Set = 0.5;
Var
Base, Height : integer;
Area : real;
Begin
Length := 5;
Area := Define * Base * Height;
Writeln(Area);
end.
What is a Pascal Program?
Simply put, Pascal is a programming language that is often used when someone is studying algorithms and programming in the academic field. In other words, it can be explained that Pascal is a programming language where the method of writing is very close to the way of writing English structure algorithms.
As already explained, Pascal is structured and composed of blocks which are generally known as subprograms. The smaller blocks can later be used to make larger blocks. Pascal is a programming language designed by someone who is a member of IFIP or the International Federation of Information Processing, back in 1971.
As explained above, the inventor of the Pascal program was Niklaus Wirth. The Pascal programming language is still one of the standard programming languages for the National Science Olympiad or OSN, especially for the computer field. Not only OSN, even the majority of computer majors in Indonesia also use the Pascal program for lecture material in the first semester.
Pascal also implements programming procedures and structures that can be assessed as a good programming language. Therefore, Pascal is touted as a very suitable choice for someone who wants to learn about programming concepts. Even the commands in the Pascal program are almost similar to the English used for daily communication. For example, the words read, begin, end, write. and others.
As part of a programming language, Pascal also does not have its own advantages and disadvantages. The following are the advantages of the Pascal program:
a. Pascal is classified as a simple and expressive programming language and is closer to human language in general. So that this one programming language is easier to understand and also learn.
b. In addition, Pascal is also more structured because it has a syntax that still allows it to break down writing programs into small functions that can be used repeatedly.
c. Strongly Typed, namely a programmer must determine the data type of a variable. The variable referred to here is a variable that can be used to store data types that have a format other than the specified format.
d. User Defined Data Type, where programmers can create other data types that are derived from standard data types.
e. Pascal has standard data types such as char, string, integer, real, and boolean which are usually available in various types of programming languages.
As for the shortcomings of the Pascal program, which reached its peak in the 1970s to early 1990s, here is a full explanation:
a. Pascal tends to be inflexible and has many of the deficiencies needed to create large applications.
b. Does not support object-oriented programming systems.
c. The syntax of the Pascal program tends to be too wordy.
d. The initial version of Pascal was not suitable and not suitable for use in business applications, because Pascal’s database support was quite limited.
Examples of Pascal Programs for Beginner Programmers
a. Example of a Pascal Program to Find Predicates
Uses crt;
Var
Nila:byte;
A,B,C,D,E:strings;
Begin
Clrscr;
Stire (input score =’);readln(value);
If score<70 then
Writeln(‘predicate D’);
If score<80 then
Writeln(‘predicate C’);
If score<90 then
Writeln(‘predicate B’);
If score<101 then
Writeln(‘predicate A’);
Readln;
end
b. Pascal Program To Create .txt Files
Uses crt;
Text Var
:text;
a,b,c:bytes;
d:bytes;
begin
clrscr;
writeln(‘input first number =’);readln(a);
writeln(‘input second number =’);readln(b);
writeln(‘input the third number =’);readln(c);
d:a+b+c;
writeln(‘if totaled, the value is =’,d);
assign(text,’count.txt’);
rewrite(writing);
write(writing,a);
write(writing,’+’);
write(writing,b);
write(writing,’+’);
write(writing,c);
write(writing,’=’);
write(writing,d);
close(text);
readln;
end.
c. Determine the Price of Rice According to Quality
Uses
Crt;
Var
Weight, price, price per kg: integer;
Quality:char;
Begin
Clrscr;
Write(‘input rice quality [/Y/Z] :’); readln(quality);
Write(‘many kg purchased’); readln(weight);
Case quality of
‘X’,’x’:price per kg:=10000;
‘Y’,’y’:price per kg:=7500;
‘Z’,’z’:price per kg:=5000;
Else
Begin
Price per kg:=0;
Writeln(‘incorrect input’);
end;
end:
Price: = price per kg * weight;
Writeln(‘price per kg: Rp’, price per kg);
Writeln(‘total price: Rp’,price);
end.
d. Calculating the Area of a Triangle
Uses crt;
Var
Base,height:integer;
Procedurecount_width(a,t:integer);
Var
Area:real;
Begin
clrscr;
Area:=a*t/2;
Writeln(‘area of triangle=’,area);
end;
Begin
Writeln(‘input base size=’); readln(base);
Writeln(‘input height =’); readln(height);
Calculate_area(base,height);
Readln;
end
Pascal Language Features
Pascal has several features that make this programming language very suitable to be used as a learning medium for programmers and also used to create commercial applications. The following are some features of Pascal that need to be understood.
a. Default Data Type
Pascal has standard data types that are commonly used in other computer programming language systems, such as real, integer, character, and also Boolean.
b. Form Data Type
In the Pascal system, programmers are allowed to create data types that have a form with their own definition.
c. Has Various Data Structures
Pascal has provided various data structures such as files, sets, arrays, and records.
d. Strict Data Type Rules
Pascal greatly restricted the use of data types in a fairly strict way. So, users can only use variables for one data type and that variable must be declared first.
e. Has Supported Structural Programming
Pascal programs are made with structured programming concepts and support sub-programs through their procedures and functions.
f. Simple and Expressive
As explained above, Pascal uses many commands using simple English. So the program is very easy to understand.
g. Has Supported Object Programming
Although not much explained, Pascal also supports object-based programming. Especially for the last version of the compiler.
Understanding Borland Turbo Pascal
When discussing applications using the Pascal program, the most popular and widely used is Turbo Pascal. This program is a compiler or program to run the Pascal language designed by an American company, namely Borland. Turbo Pascal is one of many existing or available compilers. In the 1980s, there were UCSD Pascal applications, Quick Pascal, and also Microsoft Pascal, all of which were used to run the language from the Pascal program.
Compiler Free Pascal
Although popular, Turbo Pascal is now far out of date. The last version of Turbo Pascal was Turbo Pascal 7 which was released in 1992 and was used for the Microsoft DOS operating system. The program runs on a 6-bit architecture. So programmers cannot run Turbo Pascal applications on modern operating systems such as Windows 7 or Windows 8 which use 32-bit to 64-bit architectures. In addition, Turbo Pascal is also no longer being developed by Borland.
The method that we can use to be able to run the Turbo Pascal 7 application is by using an MS DOS emulator such as DOSBox. Emulator is a program that simulates a system that is in another system. So that we can run the Turbo Pascal system from within DOSBox.
Apart from that, there are other alternatives that we can also use to run Pascal, namely by using the Free Pascal compiler. This is a Pascal compiler application that has always been developed voluntarily by many programmers around the world. Free Pascal can be used for free and can also be installed directly into modern operating systems and does not require an emulator or additional applications.
Is Learning Pascal Program Important?
If we look at job vacancies in the programming field today, almost all of them do not require Pascal language skills, so is it still important to learn about Pascal programming? In addition, due to various reasons and also a long history, Pascal programs are currently unable to compete with other programming. For example, C, C ++, Java and even the BASIC language in Microsoft Visual Basic. This happened not because the Pascal program was not good, but more because of the promotion or marketing side and also the lack of industry support.
For example, many people think that the Pascal program is better and more structured than the BASIC program. However, BASIC has been supported by companies like Microsoft. So it will definitely be more popular than Borland Delphi or Visual Basic type applications that use the Pascal program. Although not as popular as the C, C = + or Java languages, nowadays the Pascal program is still widely used as a programming language for introductions at schools and universities.
The Pascal program is intended for those of us who want to learn about algorithms and also programming from the basics. For example, for high school students who want to take part in the computer olympiad. The Pascal program is also very suitable for high school students who wish to major in Computer Science or Informatics Engineering. We can steal a start by learning the Pascal program. If we already understand the algorithm in general and master the language of the world of work, then the Pascal program may not be very suitable for learning. We can immediately learn about C++, C#, Python, Java, and other modern programming languages.
Those are some explanations about the inventor of the Pascal program and its brief history. For those of you who want to continue their education through a computer or informatics major, the material above will certainly be needed. So, to prepare everything, you might want to learn Pascal program early on.
Is Sinaumed’s interested in learning this programming language?