alt Hacker News> the first language having pointers with explicit dereferencing was Euler, published completely in 1966-01
I could only find a manual for PDP-10 Euler with references. Do you have a source for an Euler with pointers?
> the first language having pointers with explicit dereferencing was Euler, published completely in 1966-01
I could only find a manual for PDP-10 Euler with references. Do you have a source for an Euler with pointers?
"Reference" was the original term used in the languages derived from ALGOL for what is now called "pointer".
The distinction that exists in C++ between "reference" and "pointer" is something very recent. In the past the 2 terms were synonymous.
The term "pointer" was introduced by IBM PL/I in July 1966, where it replaced "reference".
PL/I has introduced many terms that have replaced previously used terms. For example:
reference => pointer
record => structure
process => task
and a few others that I do not remember right now.
"Pointer" and "structure" have become dominant after they have been taken by the C language from PL/I and then C has become extremely popular. Previously "reference" and "record" were more frequently used.