---
title: "The FORTRAN Automatic Coding System"
authors:
  - "J. W. Backus"
  - "R. J. Beeber"
  - "S. Best"
  - "R. Goldberg"
  - "L. M. Haibt"
  - "H. L. Herrick"
  - "R. A. Nelson"
  - "D. Sayre"
  - "P. B. Sheridan"
  - "H. Stern"
  - "I. Ziller"
  - "R. A. Hughes"
  - "R. Nutt"
year: 1957
venue: "Proceedings of the Western Joint Computer Conference"
arxiv: null
doi: "10.1145/1455567.1455599"
source: "https://doi.org/10.1145/1455567.1455599"
topics:
  - fortran
  - compiler
  - backus
  - automatic-programming
seed_rank: 622
seed_batch: "foundations-greats-2026-08-13"
reviewed: "2026-08-13"
pool: "languages"
relevance_score: 10
lineage: foundations-of-computing
cites:
  - title: "The Education of a Computer"
    url: "https://doi.org/10.1145/609784.609798"
    year: 1952
    arxiv: null
    doi: "10.1145/609784.609798"
see:
  - "571-the-education-of-a-computer"
---

# The FORTRAN Automatic Coding System

## One-sentence takeaway

Backus's IBM 704 team ships Fortran I — the first widely used high-level language whose compiler produced code competitive with hand-written assembly.

## Why it matters here

Industrial revolution of languages. Anoptic's C/Vulkan kernels and ano's array loops are still in this bargain: a formula-level notation that a compiler is trusted to schedule. Hopper 1952 is the automatic-programming ancestor; this is the one that stuck.

## Key ideas

- Source is algebraic formulas plus DO loops, IF, and FORMAT I/O, aimed at scientific IBM 704 users.
- The compiler is organized as a multi-pass system whose selling point is *optimized* object code, not just translation.
- Economic argument: programmer time now dominates machine time, so a good compiler pays for itself.
- *Proc. Western Joint Computer Conference*, 1957, pp. 188–198. Cite as Backus et al.

## Caveats

## Links

- DOI: [10.1145/1455567.1455599](https://doi.org/10.1145/1455567.1455599)