A comparison of Cobol, Fortran, PL-I and Spitbol

Spitbol, the compiler version of the symbol manipulation language Snobol 4, is compared with the well-known higher-level languages of Cobol, Fortran and PL-I. An algorithm for searching and insertion into a binary tree was chosen for a comparison standard and programmed in each language. Development and computer costs were then compared for the four languages. Although a single comparison does not prove one language superior to another, this comparison does suggest that Spitbol should at least be considered when choosing a programming language for non-numeric applications.