PUMPKIN

Abstract

This paper provides a source level description of a compiled microprogramming language for the Microprogrammed Control Unit (MCU) of the Signal Processing Element (AN/UYK-17), currently under development at the Naval Research Laboratory. Its present form is strictly that of a "paper" language; current research at Brown is directed toward the problems encountered in optimizing microcode for this (horizontal) machine. The structure and syntax of PUMPKIN is closely related to that of LSD - a Language for Systems Development which has been implemented at Brown [BE71, BE72, MA74]. The level (power, expressibility, distance from hardware capabilities) of PUMPKIN provides some hope that we may be able to generate usable code for the MCU - no machine independence goals exist for PUMPKIN. Some aspects of the design philosophy behind the language are contained in the paper "Design Considerations for Microprogramming Languages" [LL74], to be published in the 1974 NCC Proceedings.