Algol for Interviewing
Next time I'm interviewing a programmer for a job, I'd like to use this fragment of Algol. It comes from Electronic Computers by Hollingdale and Tootill (published 1965) which I stole from my brother-in-law's bookshelves.
begin comment Evaluate pi from Vieta's formula; real e, f, product; integer count; e := read tape; f := 0; product := 1; count := 0; for count := count + 1 while f < 2 - e do begin f:= sqrt( 2 + f ); product := product x f/2 end; newline; print (2/product); print (count) end
Good algorithm, better maths. Sixteenth century Italy was an advanced place intellectually.