Path: csiph.com!weretis.net!feeder6.news.weretis.net!news.misty.com!news.iecc.com!.POSTED.news.iecc.com!nerds-end From: gah4 Newsgroups: comp.compilers Subject: Which comes first, languages or compilers? Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2023 12:39:24 -0700 Organization: Compilers Central Sender: johnl%iecc.com Approved: comp.compilers@iecc.com Message-ID: <23-10-008@comp.compilers> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Injection-Info: gal.iecc.com; posting-host="news.iecc.com:2001:470:1f07:1126:0:676f:7373:6970"; logging-data="65293"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@iecc.com" Keywords: design, question, comment Posted-Date: 26 Oct 2023 07:57:44 EDT X-submission-address: compilers@iecc.com X-moderator-address: compilers-request@iecc.com X-FAQ-and-archives: http://compilers.iecc.com Xref: csiph.com comp.compilers:3535 Not from a Quora question, but one did remind me. Which (well known) languages were mostly defined before the first compiler was written? (Not counting the one you did for a homework assignment.) As well as I know it, and similar to the way IBM defined the S/360 architecture before five different groups started implementing it, PL/I (nee NPL) was pretty much completely described before groups started implementing it. There is a published IBM manual with that description. I don't count Fortran0, as I believe Knuth named an early description before the first Fortran compiler was written. It is somewhat convenient to adapt the language when you find parts harder to implement than was thought. PL/I mostly didn't do that. [COBOL, Algol60 and 68, Ada. Maybe Pascal? -John]