PIL(ID:5909/pil002)

Pascal Instructional Language - CAI Language 

for Pascal Instructional Language

Minnesota University

Replacement for MIL based on UCSD Pascal (much as MIL was based on FORTRAN). Still a standard set of CourseWriter features driving special purpose terminals
Places
Related languages
MIL => PIL   Positive Total Replacement for
UCSD Pascal => PIL   Based on
References:
  • Pascal Instructional Language Reference Manual, University of Minnesota Computer Center, Deluth, Minnesota view details
  • Luker, Mark "An efficient, portable authoring language for microcomputers" Proceedings of the 1986 ACM SIGSMALL/PC symposium on Small systems San Francisco, California, United States 1986 pp228-240 view details Abstract: An authoring language is a programming language that is optimized in some way for the efficient production of computer assisted instruction lessons. This paper summarizes nearly twenty years of experimentation and development of authoring languages at the University of Minnesota, then presents the main characteristics of a new language that embodies many of the lessons learned over this period. The new language is called AL, for author language. Based on Pascal, it is easily transportable across most microcomputers, requires no special operating system or tools, and makes no assumptions regarding educational style or method. It was designed to maximize efficiency over the entire process of authoring, testing, distribution, and maintenance of lessons. This is in stark contrast to most CAI languages, which were designed primarily to simplify the author interface.The paper is divided into five sections. The first recounts experimentation in the 1960's at Minnesota with one of the first authoring languages, and catalogs its most important deficiencies. The second section describes a major effort to support CAI using a FORTRAN language preprocessor on a large interactive timesharing system. The third section describes how this approach was successfully adapted to microcomputers using Pascal. The fourth section describes the new AL language, which incorporates the lessons of the extensive trials with the previous efforts. The final section briefly compares AL with four other authoring languages for the IBM PC. Extract: PIL
    CAI in Microcomputer Pascal

    The advent of the microcomputer stimulated a new round of promises and hopes for CAI. in fact, however, it was generally a step backwards in computing capabilities except in the high transmission rate to the display screen. The two most troublesome developments for CAI at Minnesota were the loss of hardware standardization in moving from a monolithic mainframe to a diverse collection of micros, and the initially poor support for high level programming languages on these smaller machines. The former problem had to be solved by defining a standard set of hardware capabilities required for use of a micro in CAI. As one might expect, this rather bland, lowest common denominator approach overlooked some of the features available on particular machines. This was more than repaid in portability, however, as the same lessons could be run without modification on many brands and models of micros.

    Success at standardization required an appropriate standardized, high level language. This was found in "microcomputer" Pascal, which was initially UCSD Pascal, but now includes others such as IBM and Turbo Pascal. The relatively few features not in agreement between these languages (primarily in string extensions) were unified in a package of procedures that provided a common authoring interface across some ten truly different machines with about five operating systems. Improvements in structured programming became available to authors as a welcome side effect. The current version of this language is known as PIL, the Pascal Instructional Language. It has enjoyed wide success for a number of years at several Universities.

    PIL proved the economic virtues of an authoring language based on a commonly supported, general purpose language. It reduces the cost of designing and maintaining lessons by supporting all the tools and techniques of structured programming. It provides a common platform on which lessons can be transported across different machines, now and into the future. This decreases cost per user by vastly increasing the potential number of users. It takes advantage of the wide availability of instruction and consultation for Pascal. It minimizes expensive systems development by sharing a language and other system utilities that are supported by the much larger audience of general programmers. What remained to accomplish was to organize and consolidate these gains, and to reduce any remaining unnecessary costs.
  • Luker, Mark A. "ADROIT, PC/PILOT, PIL and TENCORE, A Critical Comparison of Four CAI Languages from the Vantage Point of Computer Science" Tech Report 86-3 University of Minnesota-Duluth Duluth, Minnesota January 16, 1986 view details