FORTRAN Definition

FORTRAN is oriented and adapted to numerical programs of scientific computing. This language got its name from the acronym FORmula TRANslator. It became the first applicable and widely used programming language, enabling programmers to express Q math formulas in computer programs for the first time.

Though its usage has declined over the years, it is still vastly in use by scientific programmers. Apart from this, businesses, financial trading, and engineering simulations also make use of it. This computer programming language can trace its roots back to 1954 and was invented by John Backus.

First, FORTRAN was considered a high-level language due to the fact it was able to replace a human translation of the entire program. Moreover, it is much easier to use, with fewer restrictions than other previously existing programming languages. Besides, programs written in FORTRAN can be optimized to run on high-performance computers.

The influence of FORTRAN in software development

• The initial target of FORTRAN was to come up with a programming language whose mission should be to effectively and efficiently translate different mathematical formulas into computer-usable code.
• The impact of FORTRAN on software development has been tremendous. Faster growth, the critical aspects of this impact are: it provided for rapid development of numerical methods and scientific research.
• Standardization: The first standards for writing and distributing code, FORTRAN set them and provided a standard to facilitate collaboration between programmers and different computer systems.
• Influence on other programming languages: FORTRAN played a significant role in the development of different languages; for example, C itself was initially developed as an effort to enhance FORTRAN for general use.