SAIL (programming language): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:33, 7 November 2023

Revision as of 17:29, 7 November 2023

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The system also included a [[conditional compilation]] system using statements, as opposed to pre-processor directives as found in C. {{code|IFCR}} would compile the blocks between the corresponding {{code|THENC}} and {{code|ELSEC}} or {{code|ENDC}}. The condition in the IFCR must be known at compile time, so, like C, was normally a {{code|DEFINE}}d value.{{sfn|Smith|1976|p=44}}

===LEAP data===

The main difference between SAIL and other ALGOL-derived languages was its inclusion of the [[associative store]] from the LEAP language. This system provided a system that allowed data to be placed in record-like structures and then saved, retrieved and searched. In this respect it was similar to the data handling features in [[COBOL]]. The basis for the store was the ''association'' or ''triple'', which allowed a data value to be associated with a named slot in a record. For instance, one might make a record of the type {{code|Family_Member}} with {{code|Name}} "Tom" and set the {{code|Father}} field to "Harry". This results in a triple of the form (Father, Tom, Harry). The associated libraries could then find all the {{code|Family_Member}}s with "Harry" as the {{code|Father}}, perhaps returning "Tom" and "Alice".{{sfn|Reiser|1976|p=83}}

==Example==