Note on the use of procedures

The very generality of a language like ALGOL renders it inefficient when a number of programs have to be written all dealing with a fairly narrow range of problems. This can be largely overcome by the construction of a package of suitable procedures, each of which embodies a fairly substantial piece of computation that will be required in several different contexts (see, for example [1]). A program for a specific purpose will consist of a set of these procedures linked by a more or less skeletal main program.

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