Programming in the 1970s: A Look at the Most Popular Languages

From C and FORTRAN to Lisp and Smalltalk, a retrospective on the programming languages that shaped the decade

In the 1970s, the world of computer programming was transformed with the development and widespread adoption of many popular programming languages that are still in use today, including C, FORTRAN, and Lisp. Image from the National Museum of American History

The 1970s were a time of great advancement in the field of computer programming. Many popular programming languages that are still in use today were developed or gained widespread adoption during this decade.

1. C, which was developed in the 1970s, became popular for its efficiency and ability to be used in a wide range of applications. It is a general-purpose, procedural programming language that is still widely used today, particularly for operating systems, system software, and low-level applications.
2. FORTRAN, which was developed in the 1950s and revised in the 1960s, remained a popular choice for scientific and engineering applications in the 1970s. It is a high-level programming language that is known for its ability to perform complex mathematical operations.
3. Ada, which was developed in the 1970s, became popular for defense and aerospace applications. It is a general-purpose programming language that is known for its strong typing, modularity, and support for real-time programming.
4. Lisp, which was developed in the 1950s, became popular for artificial…