Fortran

The FORmula TRANslator of 1957, the first great compiler and still the language of supercomputer weather and physics.

Core Principles & Analysis

• John Backus's IBM team shipped it in 1957, promising hand-coded performance from compiled code.
• It proved compiling could be practical, and created the software industry's economic footing.
• Modern Fortran still tops the charts on the world's fastest supercomputers.