A Transportable Programming Language (TPL) System. I. overview

A Transportable Programming Language, TPL, is defined as one that can be used to codeany program that will compile and correctly execute onany machine in a designated range. The range specifies only the minimum software and hardware needed to support the TPL. A HLL-TPL System is one that, in addition to supporting the TPL, can be used to transport any program coded in a dialect of the High-Level Language, HLL, so that it will compile and correctly execute on any machine in a designated range.Methods of implementing a HLL-TPL System are reviewed and it is demonstrated that theSuperset Method, in which the Hypothetical Parent of the HLL (HPHLL) acts as the intermediate language between the dialects of a HLL, leads to a fully transportable High-Level Language—the HPHLL—whose only parameters are: The amount of memory available; and the maximum module size exclusive of arrays. The ongoing work to realize a production version of the FORTRAN-TPL system is described. Its essential characteristic is a fully transportable bifunctional FORTRAN-TPL compiler that converts a dialect of FORTRAN to the intermediate language, HPFORTRAN, and visa-versa.