The Simula Programming Language

Click below to go directly to a specific section:
History | Significant Language Features | Areas of Application | Sample Programs
Related Links | Printed References | Acknowledgments

History

The SIMULA programming language was designed and built by Ole-Johan Dahl and Kristen Nygaard at the Norwegian Computing Center (NCC) in Olslo between 1962 and 1967. It was originally designed and implemented as a language for discrete event simulation, but was later expended and reimplemented as a full sacle general purpose programming language.

Significant Language Features

Although SIMULA is an extension of the programming language ALGOL 60, it is not a true extension of it. SIMULA retains the spirit of ALGOL 60 and includes that language as a subset, except for some monor exceptions. The following changes were made to the Kernel:

The default parameter mode is not call by name as it is in ALGOL 60. For value type variables it is call by value; for all other quantities it is call by reference.-
All variables are initialized in SIMULA according yo their type. This include also the “result variable” in function procedures. ALGOL 60 insists that at least one assignment be made to a result variable. This is not necessary in SIMULA.

Areas of Application
Although SIMULA never became widely used, the language has been highly influential on modern programming methodololy. Among other things SIMULA introduced important Object-Oriented programming concepts like classes and objects, inheretance and dynamic binding. But it is mainly used in the area of:

Discrete Event Simulation

Sample Programs

Related Links

CIS400 Programming Languages
This a course description of a programming language overview course taught here at the University of Michigan - Dearborn.
Simula-Social and Political History
This site has some interesting views on technology.
Lund Simula
This site contains free Simula compilers.
DIRO Simula
University of Montreal Simula site.

Printed References

Birtwistle, G.M. (Graham M.) 1973. SIMULA begin. Philadelphia, Auerbach.
Sebesta, Robert (1996). Concepts of Programming Languages. Addison-Wesley Publishing, CA.

Acknowledgments

The Hello world! program was written with the help of the Hello, World Page!.

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Last modified: 03:31 PM on 11/09/1996

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