I have released the current source as version 3.0. I have also updated the documentation, Learning Algol 68 Genie. [Read more]

Published in category Algol 68

When I was a student, the university computing centre offered VM/CMS and MVS/TSO running on IBM (compatible) mainframes. Nowadays it is possible to run those operating systems in emulation. [Read more]

Published in category Computing history

As the author of Algol 68 Genie I am interested in having access to other Algol 68 compilers for reference purposes. Several years ago I wrote a post on installing Algol68C on MVS. In this post I would like to give an update. [Read more]

Published in category Computing history

Lately I needed to call on some of my now rusty electronics skills since I came into some older HiFi equipment in need of attention. I consulted the world wide web in search of service manuals and found many more people with an interest in keeping older HiFi in working condition. Now I had the opportunity to combine my passion for electronics, HiFi equipment and music … and do not forget durability, since we are actually extending the life of otherwise obsolete products. [Read more]

Published in category HiFi

As described in an earlier post, at home I operate a modest Beowulf type cluster for embarrassingly parallel simulation runs in batch mode. With the experience from that build, I took on building a higher-performance cluster using Debian. [Read more]

Published in category Science

Every year my daughter's high school invites parents to partake in an evening of information sessions, to help students orient themselves on their future. The idea is to have parents from all walks of professional life, each parent discussing half an hour or so with small groups of students who subscribed to your sessions. You are expected to tell about your study and career, and the students are supposed to pose questions. As you will expect, some come well prepared, others must be stimulated a bit. I greatly enjoy those conversations with the next generation who have their lives ahead of them. [Read more]

Published in category Education

Recently I met during an event at my Alma Mater, the University of Nijmegen, my high school physics teacher. We discussed the chemistry curriculum and remarked that quite some chemistry students capture with difficulty the fundamental principles of thermodynamics. Needless to say that thermodynamics is one of those subjects that serve a chemist for a lifetime. In my humble opinion, one reason for this lack of retention may be the abstraction level in freshmen courses and that this might be improved by spending one or two introductory hours on the basic ideas of thermodynamics in a historic context. [Read more]

Published in category Science

Being the author of Algol 68 Genie, people frequently ask me why a physical chemist wrote an Algol 68 compiler. This is an understandable question since people associate Algol 68 with the learned group of mathematicians and computer scientists that conceived the language some fifty years ago and people recall the reputation it had of being a hard to implement language. In this post I would like to give an account of how Algol 68 Genie came to be. [Read more]

Published in category Algol 68

At home I operate a modest Beowulf type cluster for embarrassingly parallel simulation runs in batch mode. A master node controls several drones. Nodes in this cluster need no more than a server installation, but if a drone happens to have keyboard, mouse and monitor a small GUI is nice to have. This GUI should be lightweight, otherwise a desktop installation makes more sense. This page demonstrates how to set up a drone with GUI on Ubuntu Server including browser, document reader, image viewer and sound. [Read more]

Published in category Science

Recently, Algol68C Release 1.3039 was made public for download. This release is derived from the compiler that was in service to the mid 1990's on IBM mainframes. The new release is meant to run on either MVT or MVS. This report documents the installation of the new release on emulated MVS/370. [Read more]

Published in category Computing history

This is a translation of the Algol 68 Revised Report into HTML, for distribution with Algol 68 Genie, an Open Source Algol 68 interpreter. [Read more]

Published in category Algol 68