ABC programming language

ABC is an imperative language[?] and programming environment[?] from CWI[?], Netherlands. It is interactive, structured, high-level, and easy to learn and use. It is a general-purpose programming language which you might use instead of BASIC, Pascal, or AWK. It is not a systems-programming language but is good for teaching or prototyping.

ABC has only five data types that can easily be combined; strong typing[?], yet without declarations; data limited only by memory[?]; refinements to support top-down programming; nesting by indentation[?]. Programs are typically around a quarter the size of the equivalent Pascal or C program, and more readable.

ABC includes a programming environment with syntax-directed editing[?], suggestions, persistent variables[?] and multiple workspaces and infinite precision arithmetic[?].

An example function words to collect the set of all words in a document:

   HOW TO RETURN words document:
      PUT {} IN collection
      FOR line in document:
         FOR word IN split line:
            IF word not.in collection:
               INSERT word IN collection
      RETURN collection

Interpreter/compiler, version 1.05.02, by Leo Geurts[?], Lambert Meertens[?], Steven Pemberton[?] <Steven.Pemberton@cwi.nl>. ABC has been ported to Unix, MS-DOS, Atari, Macintosh.

ABC was one of the influences in the design of the Python programming language.

See also Programming

External links

• A Short Introduction to the ABC Language (http://www.cwi.nl/~steven/abc/)

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This article (or an earlier version of it) contains material from FOLDOC, used with permission.