An assessment of modula

Wirth has recently published a new programming language called Modula which he suggests is suitable for the programming of process control systems, computerized laboratory equipment and input/output device drivers. The authors have written a compiler for Modula running on a PDP‐11 and generating object code for the same machine. Their experience in writing device drivers for a number of PDP‐11 devices is reported, including simple mains frequency clocks, disks, CAMAC and a graphics processor. Some difficulties arose during the writing of these programs; these are investigated and solutions proposed, either within the existing language or by minor modifications to the language. The study shows the extent to which Modula meets the requirements for a general purpose real‐time systems‐implementations programming language; areas of deficiency are noted.