ISO TR 1672-1977 PDF

Full title and description

ISO/TR 1672:1977 — Hardware representation of ALGOL basic symbols in the ISO 7‑bit coded character set for information processing interchange. This technical report specifies how the basic symbolic elements used by the ALGOL programming language can be represented in hardware using the ISO 7‑bit coded character repertoire.

Abstract

This technical report defines mappings and recommendations for the hardware-level representation of ALGOL basic symbols within the constraints of the ISO 7‑bit coded character set (the basic ISO character repertoire). It provides symbol tables and implementation guidance intended to facilitate interchange of ALGOL programs and data between equipment that implements the ISO 7‑bit code.

General information

• Status: Withdrawn.
• Publication date: February 1977 (1977-02).
• Publisher: International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
• ICS / categories: 35.060, 01.080.50.
• Edition / version: Edition 1 (1977).
• Number of pages: 9.

Details as published by ISO.

Scope

Specifies recommended hardware encodings and representation practices so that ALGOL basic symbols (operators, delimiters and other language-specific glyphs) can be consistently encoded using the ISO 7‑bit coded character set used for information interchange. The report addresses symbol-to-code assignments and practical considerations for equipment implementing the ISO 7‑bit repertoire. For background on the ISO 7‑bit coded character set referenced by this report, see the ISO 7‑bit character set standard (ISO/IEC 646).

Key topics and requirements

• Mapping of ALGOL basic symbols to 7‑bit code points within the ISO character set.
• Hardware representation recommendations for implementing those mappings in terminals, printers and interface equipment.
• Tables showing symbol names, suggested glyphs and their corresponding 7‑bit codes.
• Guidance to support interchange of ALGOL source between different vendors' equipment.
• Notes on limitations of the 7‑bit repertoire and suggested fallback/approximation strategies where direct symbol mapping is not possible.

Typical use and users

Used historically by computer hardware designers, firmware engineers, terminal and printer manufacturers, implementers of ALGOL compilers and translators, and standards/archival specialists concerned with accurate interchange of ALGOL source and symbolic data across equipment that relied on 7‑bit encodings. Today it is mainly of interest to historians, archivists and legacy-system maintainers.

Related standards

Closely related to the ISO 7‑bit coded character set standard (ISO/IEC 646) and to ISO graphical representation guidance for control characters (for example ISO 2047). Those standards define the underlying character repertoire and control-character representations that this report assumes when recommending hardware encodings.

Keywords

ALGOL, character encoding, ISO 7‑bit, ISO/TR 1672, hardware representation, information interchange, symbol mapping, legacy computing.

FAQ

Q: What is this standard?

A: ISO/TR 1672:1977 is a technical report offering recommendations for representing ALGOL basic symbols at the hardware level using the ISO 7‑bit coded character set.

Q: What does it cover?

A: It covers symbol-to-code mappings, hardware representation practices, implementation notes and tables intended to ensure consistent interchange of ALGOL symbols across equipment that implements the ISO 7‑bit repertoire.

Q: Who typically uses it?

A: Historically, hardware and firmware engineers, terminal/printer vendors, and compiler/tool implementers for ALGOL; today it is mainly consulted by archivists, maintainers of legacy systems and standards researchers.

Q: Is it current or superseded?

A: The technical report has been withdrawn by ISO. It is listed as withdrawn and (in historical listings) is shown as withdrawn without replacement; advances in character-encoding standards (later editions of ISO 7‑bit standards and, ultimately, multi‑byte encodings such as Unicode) have made this TR largely of historical interest.

Q: Is it part of a series?

A: It is a stand‑alone ISO Technical Report (TR) addressing a narrow implementation topic; it sits alongside related ISO standards on character coding and control-character representation rather than being a numbered multi‑part series.

Q: What are the key keywords?

A: ALGOL, hardware representation, 7‑bit character set, ISO 7‑bit, information interchange, symbol mapping, legacy encoding.