The First Implementation of the Graphical Automatic Programming Language

摘要

A process is described for automatically generating an assembly language code directly from a two-dimensional network representing the flow of data and control logic. The network used to represent the desired data processing to be programmed involves a type of graphical representation referred to as a Data Flow Circuit. A specially defined 'vocabulary' of some 50 basic Data Circuit Elements provides the building blocks for the Data Flow Circuits and the Graphical Automatic Programming (GAP) language. Each of these elements represents a set of assembly language instructions (e. g., dynamic macro statements). The automatic preparation of a computer program by this method is particularly advantageous when used with a computer-driven graphics terminal, which provides for rapid and interactive configuration of the Data Flow Circuits, on-line testing, and code generation. This new language is especially designed to produce highly efficient programs that operate in a real-time environment, where the only suitable alternative is tedious assembly language programming. It also constitutes a highly visible and unambiguous representation of information and logic flow that can be readily understood by engineers and scientists as well as computer programmers. (Author)