Kl, a well-structured beginning computer language
Karen Jane Hamilton Van Houten · 1980
One of the most exciting aspects of modern computer science is the transformation of programming from an art to a science. Program reliability, software management, and structured programming are all helping produce quality programs. An important contribution to the ever increasing excellence of software is the improvement of computer science education at the earliest levels. A new programming language, KL, has been designed and developed specifically for use in introductory computer science courses. The developmental goals of KL were: (1) inclusion of structured-programming tools, (2) simplicity for the user, (3) straightforward implementation, and (4) adaptability to small computers. These goals were accomplished in a number of ways. The structure of KL requires that each statement begin with a keyword and end with a semi-colon. This decreases the implementation effort and adds to the simplicity of the language. This form also eliminates the necessity for reserved words which often cause difficulty for the user. The keywords have been chosen to be meaningful and, when possible, short. Restricting the number of different statements available supports all four goals. The tools needed for abstraction are included in KL. User-defined data types are available in KL. Procedures and functions are also available for dividing a computer problem into subtasks. KL is a suitable language for teaching programming for several reasons. It requires structured programming techniques because no other constructs are available. This should start good programming habits. The concepts of structured programming can be learned using KL and later applied to other less structured languages. The concepts of structured programming are language independent and KL enables the learning of these concepts early in a computer scientist's career.