science

IITRAN

IITRAN is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand IITRAN rather than just read about it. In short: IITRAN is a discontinued programming language created in the mid-1960s and designed as a first language for students. The primary designer of the language, William S.

Key takeaways

IITRAN belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect IITRAN to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of IITRAN from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

IITRAN is a discontinued programming language created in the mid-1960s and designed as a first language for students. The primary designer of the language, William S. Worley, also contributed to the design of PL/I, and the two languages have similar syntax. The name derives from Illinois Institute of Technology, where it was developed. The IITRAN language was initially implemented for IBM 7040, with a compiler made available to students in 1964. This was followed shortly by an IBM System/360 implementation in 1966, for which the language was partially redesigned by a committee led by Dr. Peter G. Lykos. In the early 1970s, a compiler was developed for the Univac 1108 platform. Programming was done using punched cards. IITRAN was designed and developed in response to the increasing demand for a computer language which would meet the following specifications:

It should be clear, concise, and easily learned, even for those who have had no previous experience with computers or mathematics; It should bear as close a resemblance as possible to the English language; It should be free of awkward restrictions and limitations; It should be consistent with mathematical and logical foundations; It should allow processing of a great number of individual programs in a very short time; It should serve as a computational tool for students of science and engineering; It should process a clear, easily understood, set of diagnostic error messages. (Bauer, p. V) There was a Spanish language version of IITRAN at IIT as well. It utilized Spanish keywords rather than English ones. For example, the keyword read was replaced by leer.

Bibliography IITRAN / 360: Self-Instructional Manual and Text, Bauer, Charles R. et al., Addison Wesley Publishing, 1967. The IITRAN Programming Language, R. Dewar et al., CACM 12(10):569-575 (Oct 1969).

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with IITRAN

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what IITRAN claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to IITRAN before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about IITRAN ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of IITRAN

In research: IITRAN appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses IITRAN in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: IITRAN is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Educational programming languages, PL/I programming language family, Programming language topic stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for IITRAN outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study IITRAN in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what IITRAN means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain IITRAN out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is IITRAN in simple terms?

IITRAN is a discontinued programming language created in the mid-1960s and designed as a first language for students. The primary designer of the language, William S.

Why does IITRAN matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study IITRAN?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on IITRAN.