JRT
From Free net encyclopedia
JRT is an implementation of the computer programming language Pascal. It was available in the early 1980s on the CP/M operating system.
At the end of the 1970s, the most popular Pascal implementation for microcomputers was UCSD Pascal, which many people considered overpriced at hundreds of dollars. The original basis for UCSD Pascal was the p-machine compiler from ETH Zurich the originators of Pascal.
JRT was a Pascal interpreter also based on the P-machine, but separate from UCSD Pascal. It was sold cheaply, less than $100, and might have been popular had not Turbo Pascal shown up for about the same price. Turbo Pascal was a true compiler, and had an IDE as well.
Approximately in 1980-1982 period, there was a competition to see who could move from the most popular interpreted Pascal on microcomputers, the UCSD series, to true compilation. The UCSD people annouced they were working on a "native" compiler that would essentially would convert UCSD from an interpreter to a compiled, native system in one step.
JRT was able to get considerable attention for several months by being a much cheaper alternative to UCSD Pascal. This lasted less than a year, as the Borland project began selling. However, JRT was very important in that it established a low price precedent (less than $100) for a Pascal implementation.
JRT was said to have later been sold under the name "Nevada Pascal".