FLOW-MATIC facts for kids

FLOW-MATIC, originally called B-0 (which stood for Business Language version 0), was a very important early computer language. It was the first language that used words and phrases that sounded like English. This made it easier for people to tell computers what to do.

It was developed for the UNIVAC I computer by a company called Remington Rand. A brilliant computer scientist named Grace Hopper led the team that created it between 1955 and 1959. FLOW-MATIC played a big role in shaping the development of COBOL, another famous computer language.

Why Was FLOW-MATIC Special?

FLOW-MATIC was groundbreaking for a few reasons. It was the first programming language where you could give instructions using words that sounded like everyday English. Before this, computer languages were much harder to understand.

It also had a clever way of keeping the information (data) separate from the actions (operations) the computer needed to perform. Think of it like separating the ingredients for a recipe from the cooking steps. How data was set up was done using special forms, not English words.

FLOW-MATIC, along with its direct descendant AIMACO, greatly influenced COBOL. Many of its ideas were used in COBOL, including:

• Setting up where the computer would get its information (input files) and where it would send results (output files). This included special outputs for fast printers.
• A way to describe data names more clearly, like saying "price of item" instead of just "price."
• A special instruction to check if the computer had reached the end of its data when reading files.
• Using a special word like ZERO to represent the number zero.
• Dividing the program into different sections. This helped keep the code organized. For example, FLOW-MATIC had sections for the computer's setup (Computer), how data was organized (Directory), and the actual steps the program would take (Compiler).

How Did a FLOW-MATIC Program Look?

Here is a small example of what a FLOW-MATIC program might look like. It shows how the language used English-like commands to perform tasks.

(0) INPUT INVENTORY FILE-A PRICE FILE-B ; OUTPUT PRICED-INV FILE-C UNPRICED-INV FILE-D ; HSP D . (1) COMPARE PRODUCT-NO (A) WITH PRODUCT-NO (B) ; IF GREATER GO TO OPERATION 10 ; IF EQUAL GO TO OPERATION 5 ; OTHERWISE GO TO OPERATION 2 . (2) TRANSFER A TO D . (3) WRITE-ITEM D . (4) JUMP TO OPERATION 8 . (5) TRANSFER A TO C . (6) MOVE UNIT-PRICE (B) TO UNIT-PRICE (C) . (7) WRITE-ITEM C . (8) READ-ITEM A ; IF END OF DATA GO TO OPERATION 14 . (9) JUMP TO OPERATION 1 . (10) READ-ITEM B ; IF END OF DATA GO TO OPERATION 12 . (11) JUMP TO OPERATION 1 . (12) SET OPERATION 9 TO GO TO OPERATION 2 . (13) JUMP TO OPERATION 2 . (14) TEST PRODUCT-NO (B) AGAINST ; IF EQUAL GO TO OPERATION 16 ; OTHERWISE GO TO OPERATION 15 . (15) REWIND B . (16) CLOSE-OUT FILES C ; D . (17) STOP . (END)

This example shows how the program would handle different files of information. It would compare product numbers and decide what to do next based on the comparison. For instance, it might move data from one file to another or print out results. The operations are numbered, and the program follows these steps unless it's told to "JUMP" to a different step. The last step, "STOP," tells the program to finish.

See also

In Spanish: FLOW-MATIC para niños