The Executive Systems Problem Oriented Language (ESPOL) is a

programming language A programming language is a system of notation for writing computer programs. Most programming languages are text-based formal languages, but they may also be graphical. They are a kind of computer language. The description of a programming ...

, a superset of ALGOL 60, that provides abilities of what would later be termed a ''

system programming language A system programming language is a programming language used for system programming; such languages are designed for writing system software, which usually requires different development approaches when compared with application software. Edsger W ...

'' or ''machine oriented high order language'' (mohol), such as interrupting a processor on a multiprocessing system (the

Burroughs large systems The Burroughs Large Systems Group produced a family of large 48-bit mainframes using stack machine instruction sets with dense syllables.E.g., 12-bit syllables for B5000, 8-bit syllables for B6500 The first machine in the family was the B5000 in ...

were multiprocessor systems). ESPOL was used to write the ''

Master Control Program The MCP (Master Control Program) is the operating system of the Burroughs small, medium and large systems, including the Unisys Clearpath/MCP systems. MCP was originally written in 1961 in ESPOL (Executive Systems Problem Oriented Language). In ...

'' (MCP) on Burroughs computer systems from the B5000 to the B6700. The single-pass

compiler In computing, a compiler is a computer program that translates computer code written in one programming language (the ''source'' language) into another language (the ''target'' language). The name "compiler" is primarily used for programs tha ...

for ESPOL could compile over 250 lines per second. ESPOL was superseded by

NEWP New Executive Programming Language (NEWP) is a high-level programming language used on computers running the Unisys operating system '' Master Control Program'' (MCP). The language is used to write the operating system and other system utility soft ...

References

B5500 ESPOL Reference Manual, 1967B6500 ESPOL Reference Manual, 1970B6700/7700 ESPOL Reference Manual, 1972
ALGOL 60 implementation ALGOL 60 dialect Burroughs mainframe computers Systems programming languages Mainframe computer software {{Prog-lang-stub