[fawr-tran] 
| a high-level programming language used mainly for solving problems in science and engineering. |
| FOR·TRAN (fôr'trān') n. A high-level programming language for problems that can be expressed algebraically, used mainly in mathematics, science, and engineering. [for(mula) + tran(slation).] |
Fortran language
(Formula Translation) The first and, for a long time, the most widely used programming language for numerical and scientific applications. The original versions lacked recursive procedures and block structure and had a line-oriented syntax in which certain columns had special significance.
There have been a great many versions.
The name is often written "FORTRAN", harking back to the days before computers were taught about lower case, but ANSI decreed, in about 1985 via the ANSI FORTRAN Technical Committee TC, that it should be "Fortran".
See also: Fortrash.
[Was Fortran I the first version?]
(2000-07-07)
| FORTRAN formula translator (programming language) |
FORTRAN
computer-programming language created in 1957 by John Backus that shortened the process of programming and made computer programming more accessible.
Learn more about FORTRAN with a free trial on Britannica.com.