TCL - A FORTRAN-based pointer threaded command language for simulation

Abstract

An interactive threaded command language (TCL) was developed for design and simulation applications. The FORTRAN imple mentation of this language emphasizes a basic approach toward developing simulation software rather then the specific command language. TCL incorporates the extensibility and interactive features of threaded interpretive languages such as FORTH and STOIC, but it allows use of all the flexible data structures and numerical capabilities of FORTRAN 77. The approach presented here can easily be adapted to develop other higher level languages tailored to specific applications. Another interesting feature, within a FORTRAN 77 program, is the handling of various display terminals through an internal data structure and an ASCII text file that contains the terminal's "characteristics".