Fortran
Fortran (Formula Translation) is one of the oldest high-level programming languages, created in 1957 for numerical and scientific computing, and it remains in use today for high-performance computing.
Definition
Fortran (Formula Translation) is one of the oldest high-level programming languages, created in 1957 for numerical and scientific computing, and it remains in use today for high-performance computing.
Overview
Fortran was developed by IBM in 1957 and is widely regarded as the first widely used high-level programming language, created specifically to let scientists and engineers express mathematical formulas in code more directly than assembly language allowed. Its name — "Formula Translation" — reflects that original purpose of translating mathematical notation into executable instructions. Fortran compilers have historically produced extremely efficient machine code for numerical, array-heavy computation, a reputation that persists today: Fortran remains one of the fastest languages available for dense numerical workloads, and many performance-critical routines in scientific libraries (including parts of widely used linear-algebra libraries) are still written in it. This performance advantage is why Fortran remains entrenched in fields like climate modeling, computational physics, and aerospace engineering, where decades-old, heavily validated Fortran codebases continue running large-scale simulations. Modern Fortran (2003, 2008, 2018 standards) added object-oriented features, better array handling, and improved interoperability with C, moving well beyond the language's original 1950s form. While new numerical-computing projects today are more likely to start in Python or MATLAB, Fortran continues to power the performance-critical cores of scientific computing infrastructure, particularly in national laboratories, aerospace, and academic high-performance computing.
Key Features
- One of the first high-level programming languages ever created
- Optimized compilers produce highly efficient numerical machine code
- Native, first-class support for array and matrix operations
- Deep legacy presence in scientific and engineering codebases
- Modern standards add object-oriented and interoperability features
- Widely used in high-performance computing and supercomputing