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STANFORD ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE LABORATORY
MEMO AIM-204
JULY 1973
COMPUTER SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
REPORT STAN-CS-73-373
SAIL USER MANUAL
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edited by
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Kurt A. VanLehn
ABSTRACT
SAIL is a high-level programming language for the PDP-10 computer. It includes an
extended ALGOL 60 compiler and a companion set of execution-time routines. In
addition to ALGOL, the language features: (1) flexible linking to hand-coded machine
language algorithms, (2) complete access to the PDP-10 I/O facilities, ( 3 ) a c o m p l e t e
system of compile-time arithmetic and logic as well as a flexible macro system, (4) user
modifiable error handling, (5) backtracking, and (6) interrupt facilities. Furthermore, a
subset of the SAIL language, called LEAP, provides facilities for (1) sets and lists, (2) an
associative data structure, (3) independent processes, and (4) procedure variables.
The LEAP subset of SAIL is an extension of the LEAP language, which was designed by
J. Feldman and P. Rovner, and implemented on Lincoln Laboratory’s TX-2 (see [Feldman
8: Rovner]). The extensions to LEAP are partially described in “Recent Developments
in SAIL” (see [Feldman]).
This manual describes the SAIL language and the execution-time routines for the
typical SAIL user: a non-novice programmer with some knowledge of ALGOL. It lies
somewhere between being a tutorial and a reference manual.
This manual was supported by the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the Office of the Secretary of Defense
under Contract No. SD183 (order number 4571, National Institute of Mental Health Contract N O. PHS MH 0664512, and National Science Foundation Contract NO. GJ-776.
The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted
necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of any of the funding agencies.
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We would like to thank Bernard A. Goldhirsh and the Institute For the Advancement of Sailing for their kind
permission to use the cover design of the June 1973 issue of SAIL magazine.
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Reproduced in the !JSA. Available from the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia 22151.