In this section, we will write our first ALGOL program. This will help you understand the basic structure and syntax of ALGOL. We will start with a simple program that prints "Hello, World!" to the console.

An ALGOL program typically consists of the following parts:

• Program Header: The name of the program.
• Declarations: Variables and constants are declared here.
• Statements: The main logic of the program.

Let's write a simple program that prints "Hello, World!" to the console.

• BEGIN and END.: These keywords define the start and end of the program.
• PRINT("Hello, World!");: This statement prints the string "Hello, World!" to the console. The semicolon ; is used to terminate the statement.

To run the program, follow these steps:

1. Save the program in a file with an appropriate extension (e.g., hello.alg).
2. Use an ALGOL compiler or interpreter to execute the file.

Modify the "Hello, World!" program to print your name instead.

Solution

Replace [Your Name] with your actual name.

Add a second print statement to the program to print "Welcome to ALGOL programming!".

Solution

• Missing Semicolon: Ensure each statement ends with a semicolon ;.
• Case Sensitivity: ALGOL is case-sensitive, so PRINT and print are different.
• Proper Indentation: While not mandatory, proper indentation improves readability.

In this section, you learned how to write and run a simple ALGOL program. You also practiced modifying the program to print different messages. This foundational knowledge will help you as you progress through more complex topics in ALGOL programming.

Next, we will delve into the basic syntax and structure of ALGOL programs, starting with the overall program structure.