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Modula-2
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<p>Modula-2 is a structured, procedural <a href="/facts/Programming_language/cWTYbgWa">programming language</a> developed between 1977 and 1985/8 by <a href="/facts/Niklaus_Wirth/krsLUB11">Niklaus Wirth</a> at <a href="/facts/ETH_Zurich/IxHAFGUU">ETH Zurich</a>. It was created as the language for the <a href="/facts/Operating_system/8XTuvMh2">operating system</a> and <a href="/facts/Application_software/YQuj7Kog">application software</a> of the <a href="/facts/Lilith_(computer)/ktXStKdw">Lilith</a> personal <a href="/facts/Workstation/h5tK4hTt">workstation</a>. It was later used for programming outside the context of the <a href="/facts/Lilith_(computer)/ktXStKdw">Lilith</a>. </p><p>Wirth viewed Modula-2 as a successor to his earlier programming languages <a href="/facts/Pascal_(programming_language)/b3yvp8bF">Pascal</a> and <a href="/facts/Modula/pxLbgVF5">Modula</a>. The main concepts are: </p> <ol><li>The <a href="/facts/Modular_programming/sNoqKvRD">module</a> as a compiling unit for separate compiling</li> <li>The <a href="/facts/Coroutine/hGCtXsAQ">coroutine</a> as the basic building block for concurrent processes</li> <li>Types and procedures that allow access to machine-specific data</li></ol> <p>The language design was influenced by the <a href="/facts/Mesa_(programming_language)/etxwQkV5">Mesa</a> language and the <a href="/facts/Xerox_Alto/6pjFTD0A">Xerox Alto</a>, both from <a href="/facts/Xerox_PARC/fh2Su0k9">Xerox PARC</a>, that Wirth saw during his 1976 <a href="/facts/Sabbatical/3QgUGTej">sabbatical</a> year there. The computer magazine <i><a href="/facts/Byte_(magazine)/xWovF95Q">Byte</a></i> devoted the August 1984 issue to the language and its surrounding environment. </p><p>Wirth created the <a href="/facts/Oberon_(programming_language)/YHFyy3UU">Oberon</a> series of languages as the successor to Modula-2, while others (particularly at <a href="/facts/Digital_Equipment_Corporation/ztxs6keA">Digital Equipment Corporation</a> and <a href="/facts/Acorn_Computers/jCddUElC">Acorn Computers</a>, later <a href="/facts/Olivetti/bdoq8XPH">Olivetti</a>) developed Modula-2 into <a href="/facts/Modula-2%2B/fdPv3NSt">Modula-2+</a> and later <a href="/facts/Modula-3/RbblULyn">Modula-3</a>. </p>