CMS-2 (programming language)

CMS-2

CMS-2Y Programmers Reference Manual
Paradigm	Imperative
Designed by	RAND, Intermetrics
Developer	Computer Sciences Corporation
First appeared	1968
Influenced by
CS-1, Fortran, JOVIAL and PL/I

CMS-2 is an embedded systems programming language used by the United States Navy. It was an early attempt to develop a standardized high-level computer programming language intended to improve code portability and reusability. CMS-2 was developed primarily for the US Navy’s tactical data systems (NTDS).

CMS-2 was developed by Rand Corporation in the early 1970s and stands for "Compiler Monitor System". The name "CMS-2" is followed in literature by a letter designating the type of target system. For example, CMS-2M targets Navy 16-bit processors, such as the AN/AYK-14.

CMS-2 was developed for FCPCPAC (Fleet Computer Programming Center - Pacific) in San Diego, CA. It was implemented by Computer Sciences Corporation in 1968 with design assistance from Intermetrics. The language continued to be developed, eventually supporting a number of computers including the AN/UYK-7 and AN/UYK-43 and UYK-20 and UYK-44 computers.

CMS-2 was designed to encourage program modularization, permitting independent compilation of portions of a total system. The language is statement oriented. The source is free-form and may be arranged for programming convenience. Data types include fixed-point, floating-point, boolean, character and status. Direct reference to, and manipulation of character and bit strings is permitted. Symbolic machine code may be included, known as direct code.

A CMS-2 program is composed of statements. Statements are made up of symbols separated by delimiters. The categories of symbols include operators, identifiers, and constants. The operators are language primitives assigned by the compiler for specific operations or definitions in a program. Identifiers are unique names assigned by the programmer to data units, program elements and statement labels. Constants are known values that may be numeric, Hollerith strings, status values or Boolean.

CMS-2 statements are free form and terminated by a dollar sign. A statement label may be placed at the beginning of a statement for reference purposes.

A CMS-2 source program is composed of two basic types of statement. Declarative statements provide basic control information to the compiler and define the structure of the data associated with a particular program. Dynamic statements cause the compiler to generate executable machine instructions (object code).