Programming the UNIVAC 90/60:
As befitted a mid-size mainframe computer system, a host of different programming languages were available on the Univac 90/60. Several were specifically targeted for academic time-sharing use and were commonly used in general mathematics courses, statistics, engineering, and physics classes as well as the "traditional" computer science classes.
- BASIC -- Beginner's All-Purpose Symbolic Instructional Code
- FORTRAN -- Formula Translation
- COBOL -- Common Business Oriented Language
- RPG -- Report Program Generator
- Basic Assembler -- A low-level assembly language similar to IBM BAL
- Macro Assembler -- A higher-level assembly language designed for the 90/60
- PL/I -- Programming Language I -- Used primarily for systems programming
- WATFOR -- A load-and-go FORTRAN Interpreter developed at the University of Waterloo
- WATFIV -- An evolved version of WATFOR, capable of running more complex programs.
- FASTFOR -- An interactive FORTRAN interpreter with free-format I/O.
- LESTER -- A computer-aided instruction (CAI) authoring language
Although BASIC and FASTFOR allowed the user to simply sit down at a terminal and begin program entry in an interactive fashion, the other languages were more traditional and required a completed source-code file before compilation could commence. The number of interactive terminals was always limited, and users were encouraged to keypunch their program source-code into cards for batch submission prior to attempting an interactive debugging session. Alternatively, programs could be punched on paper tape at an "offline" teletype and used to quickly transmit the completed program rather than tie up a terminal for extended periods of time for initial program entry.