Editing IBM RPG (section)

===Background===
Originally developed by [[International Business Machines|IBM]] in 1959, the name ''Report Program Generator'' was descriptive of the purpose of the language: generation of reports from data files.<ref>[http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/documents/pdf/HistoryofIBMDataProcessing.pdf ''"...IBM 1401 and the Report Program Generator (RPG) contributed significantly to this success..."''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120124182914/http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/documents/pdf/HistoryofIBMDataProcessing.pdf |date=2012-01-24 }}, IBM 1401 Data Processing System / 1959</ref> [[FOLDOC]] accredits Wilf Hey with work at IBM that resulted in the development of RPG.<ref>but it says 1965, rather than the 1959 mentioned here.</ref> [[FARGO Programming Language|FARGO]] ('''F'''ourteen-o-one '''A'''utomatic '''R'''eport '''G'''eneration '''O'''peration) was the predecessor to RPG on the [[IBM 1401]].

Both languages were intended to facilitate ease of transition for IBM [[tabulating machine]] (Tab) [[unit record equipment]] technicians to the then-new computers. Tab machine technicians were accustomed to plugging wires into [[plugboard|control panels]] to implement input, output, control and counter operations (add, subtract, multiply, divide).  Tab machines programs were executed by impulses emitted in a machine cycle; hence, FARGO and RPG emulated the notion of the machine cycle with the program cycle. RPG was superior to and rapidly replaced FARGO as the report generator program of choice.

IBM later implemented RPG(7070-RG-902), but not FARGO, on the [[IBM 7070]]/72/74.<ref>{{cite book
 | title     = 7070/7074 Compiler Systems: Report Program Generator
 | id        = C28-6113
 | publisher = [[IBM]]
 }}
</ref><ref>{{cite book
 |title        = Programming Systems Analysis Guide - IBM 7070 Series Report Program Generator
 |id           = C28-6192
 |url          = http://bitsavers.org/pdf/ibm/7070/C28-6192_7070_RPG_System_Analysis_Guide_1962.pdf
 |year         = 1962
 |publisher    = [[IBM]]
 |access-date  = January 19, 2024
 |archive-date = January 19, 2024
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20240119173806/http://bitsavers.org/pdf/ibm/7070/C28-6192_7070_RPG_System_Analysis_Guide_1962.pdf
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref>

The alternative languages generally available at the time were [[Assembly language|Assembler]], [[COBOL]] or [[FORTRAN]]. Assembler and COBOL were more common in mainframe business operations ([[System/360]] models 30 and above) and RPG more commonly used by customers who were in transition from tabulating equipment (System/360 model 20).