IFIP Working Group 2.1
Open-knowledge reference entry
IFIP Working Group 2.1 on Algorithmic Languages and Calculi is a working group of the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP).
IFIP WG 2.1 was formed as the body responsible for the continued support and maintenance of the programming language ALGOL 60. The Modified Report on the Algorithmic Language ALGOL 60 and the ALGOL 68 programming language were produced by WG 2.1.
As of 2 March 2011, its scope is:
Study of calculation of programs from specifications
Design of notations for such calculation
Formulation of algorithm theories, using such notations
Investigation of software support for program derivation
Continuing responsibility for ALGOL 60 and ALGOL 68
History
Formation
Soon after the publication of the original ALGOL 60 Report in 1960, issues arose that needed some form of authoritative resolution. ALGOL 60 had been chosen by leading scientific journal Communications of the ACM as its language for algorithms, then an important part of the items published in the Communications. Computer manufacturers and academic groups were laboring to produce implementations. There were issues that needed clarification, such as ambiguities and errors in the Report. Another urgent issue was the absence of even basic input/output (I/O) facilities.
The authors of the ALGOL 60 Report met in Rome, Italy, in April 1962 to resolve most of the ambiguities and errors known at the time, resulting in the Revised Report on the Algorithmic Language ALGOL 60. During that meeting, the authors decided to institutionalize the responsibility for the continued support and maintenance of ALGOL 60 by transferring it to the young international IFIP organization.
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