View source for Steelman language requirements

{{Merge to|Straw man proposal|discuss=Talk:Straw man proposal#Proposed merge of Steelman language requirements into Straw man proposal|date=April 2024}}
{{more footnotes|date=August 2018}}
The '''Steelman language requirements''' were a set of requirements which a high-level general-purpose [[programming language]] should meet, created by the [[United States Department of Defense]] in ''The Department of Defense Common High Order Language program'' in 1978. The predecessors of this document were called, in order, "Strawman", "Woodenman", "Tinman" and "Ironman".<ref>Department of Defense (June 1978), [https://web.archive.org/web/20200914235620/https://dwheeler.com/steelman/steelman.htm Requirements for High Order Computer Programming Languages: "Steelman"]</ref>

The requirements focused on the needs of [[embedded systems|embedded]] computer applications, and emphasised reliability, maintainability, and efficiency. Notably, they included [[exception handling]] facilities, [[run-time checking]], and [[parallel computing]].

It was concluded that no existing language met these criteria to a sufficient extent,<ref>SoftTech Inc. (1976), [https://archive.org/details/DTIC_ADA037637/mode/2up "Evaluation of ALGOL 68, Jovial J3B, Pascal, SIMULA 67, and TACPOL Versus TINMAN - Requirements for a Common High Order Programming Language."] - See also: [[ALGOL 68]], [[JOVIAL|Jovial]] J3B, [[Pascal (programming language)|Pascal]], [[SIMULA]] 67, and [[TACPOL]] (Defense Technical Information Center - DTIC ADA037637, Report Number 1021-14)</ref> so a contest was called to create a language that would be closer to fulfilling them. The design that won this contest became the [[Ada (programming language)|Ada programming language]].

The resulting language followed the Steelman requirements closely, though not exactly.

The Ada 95 revision of the language went beyond the Steelman requirements, targeting general-purpose systems in addition to embedded ones, and adding features supporting [[object-oriented programming]].<ref>David A. Wheeler (1997), [https://web.archive.org/web/20200914235617/https://dwheeler.com/steelman/steeltab.htm "Ada, C, C++, and Java vs. The Steelman"]. Originally published in ''Ada Letters'' July/August 1997</ref>

== See also ==
* [[ALGOL 68]]
* [[Pascal (programming language)|Pascal]]
* [[Smalltalk]]
* [[Ada (programming language)|Ada]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Wikisource|Steelman language requirements}}
* Department of Defense (June 1978), [https://web.archive.org/web/20200914235620/https://dwheeler.com/steelman/steelman.htm Requirements for High Order Computer Programming Languages: "Steelman"]
* David A. Wheeler (1996), [https://web.archive.org/web/20200915104558/https://dwheeler.com/steelman/ Introduction to Steelman On-Line] (Version 1.2).
* SoftTech Inc. (1976), [https://archive.org/details/DTIC_ADA037637/mode/2up "Evaluation of ALGOL 68, Jovial J3B, Pascal, SIMULA 67, and TACPOL Versus TINMAN - Requirements for a Common High Order Programming Language."] - See also: [[ALGOL 68]], [[JOVIAL|Jovial]] J3B, [[Pascal (programming language)|Pascal]], [[SIMULA]] 67, and [[TACPOL]] (Defense Technical Information Center - DTIC ADA037637, Report Number 1021-14).
* David A. Wheeler (1997), [https://web.archive.org/web/20200914235617/https://dwheeler.com/steelman/steeltab.htm "Ada, C, C++, and Java vs. The Steelman"]. Originally published in ''Ada Letters'' July/August 1997.

[[Category:Ada (programming language)]]
[[Category:Programming language design]]


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