# ALGOL 68

> programming language

**Wikidata**: [Q2166735](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2166735)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ALGOL_68)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/algol-68

## Summary

ALGOL 68 was influenced by ALGOL Y and ALGOL 60.

## Summary
ALGOL 68 is a programming language designed in 1968 as a successor to ALGOL 60. It was developed by a team including Adriaan van Wijngaarden, Barry J. Mailloux, John E. L. Peck, and Cornelis H. A. Koster, featuring structural typing, static typing, strong typing, and safe typing disciplines.

## Key Facts
- ALGOL 68 was published in 1968 as a programming language
- It was designed by Adriaan van Wijngaarden, Barry J. Mailloux, John E. L. Peck, and Cornelis H. A. Koster
- The language follows ALGOL 60 and is influenced by ALGOL Y
- It features structural typing, static typing, strong typing, and safe typing
- ALGOL 68 supports concurrent computing and imperative programming paradigms
- The language has aliases including ALGOrithmic Language 1968, Algol 68, and Алгол-68
- It is described at http://archives.lib.umn.edu/repositories/3/resources/323
- The language has Wikipedia pages in 10 languages including English, German, French, and Dutch

## FAQs
### Q: What is ALGOL 68?
A: ALGOL 68 is a programming language published in 1968 that succeeded ALGOL 60. It was designed by a team of computer scientists and features multiple typing disciplines including structural, static, strong, and safe typing.

### Q: Who created ALGOL 68?
A: ALGOL 68 was created by Adriaan van Wijngaarden, Barry J. Mailloux, John E. L. Peck, and Cornelis H. A. Koster, with van Wijngaarden serving as the primary designer.

### Q: What programming paradigms does ALGOL 68 support?
A: ALGOL 68 supports concurrent computing and imperative programming paradigms, making it suitable for both parallel processing and traditional sequential programming tasks.

## Why It Matters
ALGOL 68 represents a significant evolution in programming language design, introducing advanced typing systems and concurrent computing capabilities that influenced later languages. As a successor to ALGOL 60, it addressed many limitations of its predecessor while maintaining compatibility with existing ALGOL concepts. The language's emphasis on strong typing and safety helped establish important principles in software engineering, particularly in systems where reliability and correctness are paramount. Its development by an international team of experts also demonstrated the collaborative nature of programming language evolution during the 1960s. Though not as widely adopted as some contemporaries, ALGOL 68's innovations in typing systems and concurrent processing have left a lasting impact on programming language theory and practice.

## Notable For
- Advanced typing system combining structural, static, strong, and safe typing disciplines
- Support for concurrent computing, making it one of the earlier languages to handle parallel processing
- International development team including experts from Netherlands and Canada
- Successor to ALGOL 60 with significant improvements in language design and safety
- Influence on later programming languages through its typing and concurrency features

## Body
### Development and Design
ALGOL 68 was developed through an international collaboration involving computer scientists from multiple countries. The design team included Adriaan van Wijngaarden from the Netherlands, who served as the primary designer, along with Barry J. Mailloux, John E. L. Peck, and Cornelis H. A. Koster. The language was specifically created to address limitations in ALGOL 60 while maintaining compatibility with existing ALGOL concepts.

### Typing System
The language features a sophisticated typing system that includes structural typing, static typing, strong typing, and safe typing. This multi-faceted approach to typing was innovative for its time and helped establish important principles in software engineering. The structural typing system allows for more flexible type relationships compared to nominal typing systems.

### Programming Paradigms
ALGOL 68 supports both concurrent computing and imperative programming paradigms. The concurrent computing support made it one of the earlier programming languages to handle parallel processing, which was particularly important as computer hardware capabilities were expanding during this period.

### Documentation and Resources
The language is documented at http://archives.lib.umn.edu/repositories/3/resources/323, providing researchers and practitioners with access to its specifications and design rationale. The language also has an active presence on Stack Exchange with a dedicated tag at https://stackoverflow.com/tags/algol68.

### Language Family and Influence
As a dialect of ALGOL and a successor to ALGOL 60, ALGOL 68 represents an important step in the evolution of programming languages. It was influenced by ALGOL Y and has influenced subsequent language designs, particularly in the areas of typing systems and concurrent processing.

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## References

1. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013