The Executive Systems Problem Oriented Language (ESPOL) is a

programming language A programming language is a system of notation for writing computer programs. Most programming languages are text-based formal languages, but they may also be graphical. They are a kind of computer language. The description of a programming ...

, a superset of

ALGOL 60 ALGOL 60 (short for ''Algorithmic Language 1960'') is a member of the ALGOL family of computer programming languages. It followed on from ALGOL 58 which had introduced code blocks and the begin and end pairs for delimiting them, representing a ...

, that provides abilities of what would later be termed a '' system programming language'' or ''machine oriented high order language'' (mohol), such as interrupting a processor on a

multiprocessing Multiprocessing is the use of two or more central processing units (CPUs) within a single computer system. The term also refers to the ability of a system to support more than one processor or the ability to allocate tasks between them. There ar ...

system (the

Burroughs large systems The Burroughs Large Systems Group produced a family of large 48-bit mainframes using stack machine instruction sets with dense syllables.E.g., 12-bit syllables for B5000, 8-bit syllables for B6500 The first machine in the family was the B5000 ...

were multiprocessor systems). ESPOL was used to write the '' Master Control Program'' (MCP) on Burroughs computer systems from the B5000 to the B6700. The single-pass

compiler In computing, a compiler is a computer program that translates computer code written in one programming language (the ''source'' language) into another language (the ''target'' language). The name "compiler" is primarily used for programs tha ...

for ESPOL could compile over 250 lines per second. ESPOL was superseded by NEWP.

References

B5500 ESPOL Reference Manual, 1967B6500 ESPOL Reference Manual, 1970B6700/7700 ESPOL Reference Manual, 1972
ALGOL 60 implementation ALGOL 60 dialect Burroughs mainframe computers Systems programming languages Mainframe computer software {{Prog-lang-stub