In this section, we will guide you through the process of setting up an environment to write, compile, and run ALGOL programs. This involves selecting an appropriate ALGOL compiler or interpreter, installing it, and configuring your development environment.

ALGOL, being an older language, does not have as many modern compilers or interpreters as more recent languages. However, there are still a few options available:

• ALGOL 60: One of the most popular versions of ALGOL. You can use the ALGOL 60 Interpreter available online.
• ALGOL 68: Another widely used version. The ALGOL 68 Genie is a popular interpreter for this version.

For this guide, we will focus on installing ALGOL 68 Genie, as it is one of the more robust options available for ALGOL programming.

1. Download the Installer:

   • Visit the ALGOL 68 Genie download page.
   • Download the Windows installer.

2. Run the Installer:

   • Locate the downloaded file and double-click it to run the installer.
   • Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

3. Verify the Installation:

   • Open Command Prompt.
   • Type a68g --version and press Enter.
   • You should see the version information of ALGOL 68 Genie.

1. Install via Package Manager:

   • Open your terminal.
   • For Debian-based systems (like Ubuntu), use:

     sudo apt-get install algol68g
     

   • For Red Hat-based systems (like Fedora), use:

     sudo dnf install algol68g
     

2. Verify the Installation:

   • Open your terminal.
   • Type a68g --version and press Enter.
   • You should see the version information of ALGOL 68 Genie.

1. Install Homebrew (if not already installed):

   • Open your terminal.
   • Install Homebrew by running:

     /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
     

2. Install ALGOL 68 Genie:

   • Use Homebrew to install ALGOL 68 Genie:

     brew install algol68g
     

3. Verify the Installation:

   • Open your terminal.
   • Type a68g --version and press Enter.
   • You should see the version information of ALGOL 68 Genie.

While ALGOL does not have dedicated modern IDEs, you can use any text editor that supports syntax highlighting for ALGOL. Some popular choices include:

• Visual Studio Code: Highly customizable with extensions.
• Sublime Text: Lightweight and fast.
• Notepad++: Simple and effective for Windows users.

1. Install Visual Studio Code:

   • Download and install from the official website.

2. Install ALGOL Syntax Highlighting Extension:

   • Open Visual Studio Code.
   • Go to the Extensions view by clicking the Extensions icon in the Activity Bar on the side of the window.
   • Search for "ALGOL" and install an appropriate extension for ALGOL syntax highlighting.

3. Configure Build Tasks:

   • Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P).
   • Type Tasks: Configure Task and select it.
   • Choose Create tasks.json file from template and select Others.
   • Add the following configuration to tasks.json:

     {
       "version": "2.0.0",
       "tasks": [
         {
           "label": "Run ALGOL",
           "type": "shell",
           "command": "a68g",
           "args": [
             "${file}"
           ],
           "group": {
             "kind": "build",
             "isDefault": true
           },
           "problemMatcher": []
         }
       ]
     }
     

Create a new file named hello.alg and add the following code:

1. Using Command Line:

   • Open your terminal or command prompt.
   • Navigate to the directory containing hello.alg.
   • Run the program using:

     a68g hello.alg
     

2. Using Visual Studio Code:

   • Open hello.alg in Visual Studio Code.
   • Press Ctrl+Shift+B to run the build task.
   • The output should display "Hello, World!".

By now, you should have a working ALGOL development environment set up on your computer. You have learned how to choose and install an ALGOL compiler or interpreter, configure a text editor for ALGOL development, and run a simple ALGOL program. This setup will serve as the foundation for the rest of the course, where you will dive deeper into ALGOL programming concepts and techniques.