What is 4tran?

4tran, also known as FORTRAN (FORmula TRANslation), is a high-level programming language developed by IBM in the 1950s for scientific and engineering applications. It was one of the first programming languages and was designed to be easily readable and maintainable, with a focus on mathematical computations and scientific algorithms.

Some key features of the language include its ability to handle complex mathematical formulas, its support for array processing, and its ability to handle large-scale problems. FORTRAN has undergone numerous updates and revisions over the years, including the latest version, FORTRAN 2018, which includes several new features such as interoperability with C and enhanced support for parallel processing.

FORTRAN has had a significant impact on the development of scientific computing and has been widely used in fields such as physics, astronomy, meteorology, and engineering. Despite being one of the oldest programming languages still in use, it remains a popular choice for scientific computing due to its efficiency and ease of use.