An evaluation of programming languages and language features for engineering software development

This article addresses the need for engineers to have a working knowledge of the fundamental structures of computer programming languages. In pursuit of this, it briefly looks at the history behind four of the more well-known programming languages. It then attempts to identify, and to look critically at, the attributes of programming languages that significantly affect the production of engineering software. The four traditional procedural programming languages chosen for review are those intended for scientific and general purpose programmin—FORTRAN-77, C, Pascal, and Modula-2. These languages are compared and some general observations are made.The emphasis of this article is on the attributes, characteristics, and components of programming languages that are important to software development and maintenance. Consequently, the comparison itself is of secondary importance, with the actual methodology of comparison given prominence in order that professional engineers who need to develop engineering software are able to make rational decisions about the choice of a programming language. Choosing an appropriate language can be a complex task and many factors must be considered. Therefore, in this article the fundamental structures, constructs, and attributes of programming languages are discussed, with very little attention given to the specific syntax of any particular language.