Application Programming Languages¶

High-level programming languages for business, scientific, and general-purpose application development on NORD/SINTRAN systems.

📝 Application Languages¶

C-DEVELOPER-GUIDE.md ¶

C Programming Language

Modern, portable system and application programming language.

Key Features: - Pointer manipulation - Structured programming - Standard library - Portable code - System utilities

Use Cases: - Cross-platform applications - System utilities - Data structures - Algorithm implementation - Modern programming

Reference Manual: ../../../Reference-Manuals/ND-60.214.01 CC-100 and CC-500 C-Compiler User Manual.md

START HERE FOR PLANC: HOW-TO-PROGRAM-PLANC.md ¶

Read this before writing or changing any PLANC. The working guide: the language traps that compile clean and go wrong later, how to call a monitor call without killing the program, the XMSG receive rules, RT programs, and the build loop that tells you whether it actually worked. Written after a two-thousand-line program took days, with every avoidable cost turned into a rule.

Its companions, extracted from the manuals as DATA so tools can use them too:

file	what it holds
PLANC-LANGUAGE-RULES.md	113 checkable rules, each with a detection heuristic and its false-positive traps
monitor-calls.json	258 monitor calls - number, parameters, types, directions, and which 54 the runtime supplies as `MONn`
PLANC-MONITOR-CALL-RULES.md	how to call them from PLANC safely
xmp-api.json	54 XMP routines and 397 constants, from ND's own shipped declarations
PLANC-XMSG-API-RULES.md	the XMSG rules, each with a linter recipe

SINTRAN/XMSG/tools/planc-lint.py reads xmp-api.json and checks sources against it. Run it before every push - it is free, and it catches on Windows what otherwise costs a ten-minute round trip to the machine.

PLANC-DEVELOPER-GUIDE.md ¶

PLANC (PLAN-oriented C)

Structured programming language with strong typing and modularity.

Key Features: - Module system - Strong type checking - Structured control flow - Readable syntax - Business logic

Use Cases: - Business applications - Modular systems - Maintainable codebases - Team development - Structured projects

Companion docs: - PLANC-MONITOR-CALLS.md - doing SINTRAN MON calls from PLANC (the named MONn routines, why MONITOR_CALL fails on D100, error handling, library load order) - COSMOS-XMP-LIBRARY.md - XMSG (MON 200B) via the COSMOS XMP library - PLANC-XMSG-PROGRAMMING-GUIDE.md - how to WRITE an XMSG client or server: hello world, every call, the patterns, the traps, the error numbers - PLANC-XMSG-COMMUNICATION.md - what XMSG the machine has installed, and how to find it - PLANC-TCP-UDP-SOCKETS.md - TCP and UDP programs with ND's socket library SLIB: the program shape, a TCP server, a UDP server, building, testing, the traps - SLIB-API-REFERENCE.md - every SLIB call, record, constant and status code - PLANC-RT-AND-REENTRANT-PROGRAMS.md - INSTALLING a program into SINTRAN: as an RT program that holds no terminal and starts at boot, or as a reentrant subsystem every user shares one copy of. Where an RT program's name comes from, the RT-LOADER sequence, and DUMP-PROGRAM-REENTRANT

Reference Manuals: - ../../../Reference-Manuals/ND-60.117.5 EN PLANC Reference Manual.md - ../../../Reference-Manuals/ND-10309A PLANC FOR ND-100.md

PASCAL-DEVELOPER-GUIDE.md ¶

ND-PASCAL

Educational and structured programming language.

Key Features: - Strong typing - Structured programming - Clear syntax - Educational design - Algorithm focus

Use Cases: - Educational programs - Algorithm development - Structured applications - Academic computing - Learning programming

Reference Manual: ../../../Reference-Manuals/ND-60.124.05 ND-PASCAL User's Guide.md

FORTRAN-DEVELOPER-GUIDE.md ¶

NORD FORTRAN

Scientific and numerical computing language.

Key Features: - Array operations - Mathematical functions - Floating-point arithmetic - Scientific notation - Numerical libraries

Use Cases: - Scientific computing - Engineering calculations - Numerical analysis - Matrix operations - Statistical analysis

Reference Manuals: - ../../../Reference-Manuals/ND-60.145.7A EN ND FORTRAN Reference Manual.md - ../../../Reference-Manuals/ND-60.011.04 NORD Standard FORTRAN Reference Manual.md - ../../../Reference-Manuals/ND-10191A Fortran for ND-100-NORD-10.md - ../../../Reference-Manuals/ND-10190D FORTRAN FOR ND-500.md - ../../../Reference-Manuals/ND-10033K FORTRAN 32 BITS FLOATING FORMAT.md

COBOL-DEVELOPER-GUIDE.md ¶

NORD COBOL

Business-oriented programming language.

Key Features: - English-like syntax - Record processing - File management - Business calculations - Report generation

Use Cases: - Business data processing - Financial systems - Inventory management - Report generation - Legacy system maintenance

Reference Manual: ../../../Reference-Manuals/ND-60.144.3 EN COBOL Reference Manual.md

BASIC-DEVELOPER-GUIDE.md ¶

NORD BASIC

Interactive, easy-to-learn programming language.

Key Features: - Interactive development - Simple syntax - Line-oriented editing - Quick prototyping - Immediate execution

Use Cases: - Quick scripts - Interactive programs - Learning programming - Simple calculations - Prototyping

Reference Manuals: - ../../../Reference-Manuals/ND-60.071.01D NORD-10 BASIC Compiler Reference Manual.md - ../../../Reference-Manuals/ND-60.040.02 NORD BASIC Reference Manual.md

SIBAS-DEVELOPER-GUIDE.md ¶

SIBAS (Norsk Data database system)

CODASYL / DBTG-style (network model) database, accessed from a host language.

Key Features: - Realm / schema data organisation - DML (Data Manipulation Language) - Host-language access (COBOL, FORTRAN) - SIBAS I and SIBAS II generations - Operator / administration tooling

Use Cases: - Structured business data storage - Multi-record network databases - COBOL / FORTRAN applications needing a DBMS - Legacy SIBAS database maintenance

Reference Manuals: - ../../../Reference-Manuals/ND-60.127.5 EN THE DATABASE SYSTEM SIBAS II ND User Manual.md - ../../../Reference-Manuals/ND-30.009.3 EN SIBAS II Operator Manual.md - ../../../Reference-Manuals/210166F SIBAS II for ND-100.md - ../../../Reference-Manuals/ND-60.057.03 The Data Base System SIBAS I Users Manual Appendix A.md

🎯 Choosing the Right Language¶

For General-Purpose Programming¶

C - Best for modern, portable applications with system-level access

For Business Applications¶

COBOL - Traditional business data processing
PLANC - Modern structured business logic

For Scientific Computing¶

FORTRAN - Numerical analysis, engineering, mathematics

For Educational Projects¶

PASCAL - Learning structured programming
BASIC - Learning programming basics

For Maintainable Systems¶

PLANC or PASCAL - Strong typing and clear structure

📊 Language Comparison¶

Feature	C	PLANC	PASCAL	FORTRAN	COBOL	BASIC
Typing	Weak	Strong	Strong	Weak	Weak	Weak
Speed	Fast	Fast	Medium	Fast	Medium	Slow
Learning Curve	Medium	Medium	Easy	Medium	Medium	Easy
Portability	High	Low	Medium	High	High	Low
Modern Features	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Best For	Systems	Business	Education	Science	Business	Learning

🔄 Development Workflow¶

1. Choose Your Language¶

Select based on project requirements and team expertise.

2. Set Up Development Environment¶

@QED myprogram.c        - For C
@QED myprogram.planc    - For PLANC
@QED myprogram.pas      - For PASCAL
@QED myprogram.for      - For FORTRAN
@QED myprogram.cob      - For COBOL
@BASIC                  - For BASIC (interactive)

3. Write Your Program¶

Use QED or PED editor (../../Editors/)

🚀 Quick Start Examples¶

C Hello World¶

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    printf("Hello, NORD!\n");
    return 0;
}

PLANC Hello World¶

PROGRAM HelloWorld;
BEGIN
    WRITELN('Hello, NORD!');
END.

PASCAL Hello World¶

program HelloWorld;
begin
    writeln('Hello, NORD!');
end.

FORTRAN Hello World¶

      PROGRAM HELLO
      WRITE(*,*) 'Hello, NORD!'
      STOP
      END

COBOL Hello World¶

IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. HELLOWORLD.
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
    DISPLAY 'Hello, NORD!'.
    STOP RUN.

BASIC Hello World¶

10 PRINT "Hello, NORD!"
20 END

📚 Learning Resources¶

Each developer guide includes: - Quick Start - First program and basic concepts - Language Syntax - Complete syntax reference - Standard Library - Available functions and procedures - File I/O - Reading and writing files - Compilation - How to build programs - Examples - Practical code samples - Best Practices - Writing maintainable code

Development Workflow¶

Editors: ../../Editors/
Compilation: ../../Workflow/COMPILER-COMMANDS-REFERENCE.md
Linking: ../../Workflow/LINKING-GUIDE.md
Scripts: ../../Workflow/SCRIPT-GUIDE.md
Tools: ../../Workflow/TOOLS-REFERENCE.md

Reference Manuals¶

All Manuals: ../../../Reference-Manuals/

System Documentation¶

SINTRAN Commands: ../../../Reference-Manuals/SINTRAN-COMMANDS-REFERENCE.md

💡 Tips for Success¶

Start Simple - Begin with Hello World, then gradually add complexity
Use Examples - Study example code in each guide
Follow Conventions - Each language has its own style guidelines
Test Frequently - Compile and test often during development
Read Errors - Compiler messages are your friend
Document Code - Add comments explaining your logic
Use Version Control - Keep backups of working versions

Last Updated: 2026-07-04
Languages: 6 (C, PLANC, PASCAL, FORTRAN, COBOL, BASIC) + SIBAS database system
Documentation Status: ✅ Complete guides available (SIBAS = reference index)