A#

A#

(language)/A sharp/ A separable component of Version 2 of theAXIOM* computer algebra system. It provides a programminglanguage with an optimising compiler, an intermediate codeinterpreter, and a library of data structures andmathematical abstractions. The compiler producesstand-alone executable programs, object libraries innative operating system formats, portable bytecodelibraries, C and Lisp source code.

The A# programming language has support for object-orientedand functional programming styles. Both types and functionsare first class values that can be manipulated with a rangeof flexible and composable primitives and user programs.The A# language design places particular emphasis oncompilation for efficient machine code and portability.

Ports have been made to various 16, 32, and 64 bitarchitectures: RS/6000, SPARC, DEC Alpha, i386,i286, Motorola 680x0, S 370; several operating systems: Linux, AIX, SunOS, HP/UX, Next, Mach andother Unix systems, OS/2, DOS, Microsoft Windows,VMS and CMS; C compilers: Xlc, gcc, Sun,Borland, Metaware and MIPS C.