ELAN (programming language)
The programming language ELAN (Educational Language) was developed in 1976 at the Technical University Berlin and the GMD Research Center for Information Technology at the suggestion of the Working Group school language. At the TU - Berlin (Department of Software Engineering ), a research project was conducted in collaboration with Nixdorf Computer, with the aim of being able to use ELAN in the schools. This ELAN compiler was developed with the language CDL2.
Basis of the ELAN is also formed at the Technical University of Berlin language family SLAN. The aim of the development was the ease of learning and usability in schools.
Among the properties that are intended to facilitate, among other things learning the top-down programming, include for example the so-called Refinements. In the program code will be described in plain language, what should be done; these features are described hereinafter.
Example:
Values Preassign; expected. values Preassign: INT CONST a: = 27; INT CONST b: = 15 expect: INT CONST answer: = a b. PROC a procedure (TEXT CONST txt): IF txt = "A" THEN putline ("a was passed "); ELIF txt = " b" THEN putline ( "b was passed "); ELSE putline ( " something else was passed "); FI; END PROC a procedure; This Refinements are unknown in other programming languages , and can be compared most closely with parameterless macros. With skillful use of Refinements ELAN programs are largely self-explanatory.
There was, in the language already an extensive modularization, as it later find it in languages such as Java.
Dissemination
The operating systems L2 and L3 were written for the most part in ELAN. L2 is also known under the name EUMEL ( " Extendable multiuser Microprocessor ELAN System").
One of the first schools in their computer science classes took ELAN entrance, were the Cecilie high school before 1978 in Bielefeld and from 1980, the Max - Planck -Gymnasium. In the same year an ELAN - based two - court system was set up on the Carl-Duisberg -Gymnasium in Wuppertal, learned to program on the students in ELAN. Since 1981 ELAN was briefed on a 5 - square -L2 system in computer science courses at the high school Wesermünde in Bremerhaven. At the Dietrich -Bonhoeffer -Gymnasium in Wiehl Multi-user systems were operated with several terminals and PCs running EUMEL central to programming training with ELAN from about 1982 for a number of years. Also at the Helmholtz -Gymnasium in Bonn and at the Freiherr- vom-Stein -Gymnasium in Kleve was taught computer science with ELAN and EUMEL in the 80s. Until the end of the 1980s ELAN was taught in vocational schools for economy in the context of IT education; so for example at the vocational schools in Einbeck.
At the TU - Berlin -service teacher training of the Berlin schools was carried out with ELAN years.
ELAN is still in use in various applications (see L3).