JRT Pascal

JRT Pascal (Jim Russell Tyson) is an implementation of the

Pascal programming language. It was available in the early 1980s on the CP/M

History

At the end of the 1970s, the most popular Pascal implementation for

microcomputers was UCSD Pascal, which many people considered overpriced at hundreds of dollars. The original basis for UCSD Pascal was the p-machine compiler from ETH Zurich

, the originators of Pascal. JRT was a Pascal interpreter by Jim Russell Tyson that compiled to its own pseudocode separate from UCSD Pascal p-code.

In the early 1980s various organizations developed compilers for UCSD Pascal on microcomputers. UCSD's developers announced that they were working on a native compiler that would essentially convert UCSD from an interpreter to a compiled, native system in one step. JRT was able to get considerable attention for several months by being a much cheaper alternative to UCSD Pascal. This lasted less than a year, as Borland began selling Turbo Pascal. However, JRT was very important in that it established a low price precedent (less than $100) for a Pascal implementation.

JRT advertisements promised "a complete CP/M Pascal for only $29.95!", stating that "this is the same system we sold for $295!".

Chapter 11 bankruptcy on 18 November 1983.^[2] The product eventually continued through a version 4 priced at $69.95 and along with a Modula-2

at $99.95 may have been successful had not Turbo Pascal shown up for about the same price. Turbo Pascal was a true compiler with an IDE as well as a business model that allowed it to meet customer demand. JRT was said to have later been sold under the name "Nevada Pascal" by Ellis Computing.

Reception

Pournelle in May 1983 reported that JRT Pascal 2.0 was "intentionally a nonportable dialect", criticized its error handling, and advised beginners with the language to "stay away from it".

PC Magazine in 1984 that JRT Pascal "was a terrible compiler. Besides doing great harm to the Pascal language definition, it was a bug farm, locking up my CP/M-80 computer several times an evening. Not surprisingly, JRT Systems went bankrupt late last year".^[6]

References

^ "Now: A Complete CP/M Pascal for Only $29.95!". BYTE (advertisement). December 1982. p. 11. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
^ ^a ^b Pournelle, Jerry (January 1984). "Too Many Leads, or What in *;?!#"*? Goes First?". BYTE. p. 61. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
^ Pournelle, Jerry (May 1983). "Ulterior Motives, Lobo, Buying Your First Computer, JRT Update". BYTE. pp. 298–324.
^ Pournelle, Jerry (April 1984). "The Most Fabulous Object in the Entire World". BYTE. p. 57. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
^ Webster, Bruce F. (August 1985). "Greetings and Agitations". BYTE. p. 355. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
^ Duntemann, Jeff (1984-11-13). "Supercharged Turbo Pascal". PC Magazine. p. 276. Retrieved 25 October 2013.

External links

[byte198212-1] "Now: A Complete CP/M Pascal for Only $29.95!". BYTE (advertisement). December 1982. p. 11. Retrieved 1 October 2016.

[pournelle198401-2] Pournelle, Jerry (January 1984). "Too Many Leads, or What in *;?!#"*? Goes First?". BYTE. p. 61. Retrieved 20 January 2015.

[pournelle198305-3] Pournelle, Jerry (May 1983). "Ulterior Motives, Lobo, Buying Your First Computer, JRT Update". BYTE. pp. 298–324.

[pournelle198404-4] Pournelle, Jerry (April 1984). "The Most Fabulous Object in the Entire World". BYTE. p. 57. Retrieved 2 March 2016.

[webster198508-5] Webster, Bruce F. (August 1985). "Greetings and Agitations". BYTE. p. 355. Retrieved 27 October 2013.

[duntemann19841113-6] Duntemann, Jeff (1984-11-13). "Supercharged Turbo Pascal". PC Magazine. p. 276. Retrieved 25 October 2013.

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