Editing PL/C (section)

{{Short description|Programming language developed at Cornell University}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox programming language
 | name                   = PL/C
 | logo                   = 
 | logo caption           = 
 | screenshot             = Conway Gries An Introduction to Programming cover.jpg
 | screenshot_size        = 180px
 | screenshot caption     = Cover of book that described the PL/C dialect
 | file ext               = 
 | paradigm               = [[Procedural programming|procedural]], [[imperative programming|imperative]], [[structured programming|structured]],<!-- from PL/1 article --> [[Educational programming language|educational]]
 | scope                  =
 | released               = {{Start date|1970}}
 | designer               = 
 | developer              = [[Cornell University]]
 | latest release version = Release 7.6
 | latest release date    = 1977
 | latest preview version = 
 | latest preview date    = <!-- {{start date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
 | typing                 = [[Strong typing|strong]] <!-- from PL/1 article -->
 | implementations        = 
 | dialects               = PL/CT, PL/CS, PL/CV
 | influenced by          = [[PL/I]], [[Cornell University Programming Language|CUPL]]
 | influenced             = 
 | programming language   = 
 | platform               = 
 | operating system       = 
 | license                = 
 | website                = 
 | wikibooks              = 
}}
'''PL/C''' is an instructional dialect of the [[programming language]] [[PL/I]], developed at the Department of Computer Science of [[Cornell University]] in the early 1970s in an effort headed by Professor [[Richard W. Conway]] and graduate student Thomas R. Wilcox.<ref name="PLCConwayWilcox">{{Cite journal
 |last1=Conway 
 |first1=Richard W. 
 |authorlink1=Richard W. Conway 
 |last2=Wilcox 
 |first2=Thomas R. 
 |title=Design and implementation of a diagnostic compiler for PL/I 
 |journal=[[Communications of the ACM]] 
 |volume=16 
 |issue=3
 |pages=169&ndash;179 
 |date=March 1973
 |doi=10.1145/361972.361992
 |doi-access=free
 |hdl=1813/5952 
 |hdl-access=free 
 }}</ref> PL/C was developed with the specific goal of being used for teaching programming. The PL/C [[compiler]], which implemented almost all of the large PL/I language, had the unusual capability of never failing to compile a program, through the use of extensive automatic correction of many syntax errors and by converting any remaining syntax errors to output statements. This was important because, at the time, students submitted their programs on 
[[Punched card|IBM punch cards]] and might not get their output back for several hours.<ref name="siguccs-marches"/> Over 250 other universities adopted PL/C;<ref name="announ-gsm"/> as one late-1970s textbook on PL/I noted, "PL/C ... the compiler for PL/I developed at Cornell University ... is widely used in teaching programming."<ref>{{cite book | title=PL/I for Programmers | author-first=Robert Arthur | author-last=Barnes | publisher=North Holland | year= 1979 | page=xv | location=New York | isbn=9780444002846 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aF1OAQAAIAAJ&q=%22PL/C%22+%22release+7.6%22 }}</ref>  Similarly, a mid-late-1970s survey of programming languages said that "PL/C is a widely used dialect of PL/I."<ref name="sammet-survey-76-77">{{cite journal | author-first=Jean E. | author-last=Sammet | title= Roster of programming languages for 1976–77 | journal= SIGPLAN Notices | volume= 13 | number= 11 | date=November 1978 | pages= 56–85 | doi=10.1145/953777.953783 | s2cid=13509254 }}</ref>