16 June 2011, The PlusCal Algorithm Language, Leslie Lamport

Algorithms are different from programs and should not be described with programming languages. For example, algorithms are usually best described in terms of mathematical objects like sets and graphs instead of the primitive objects like bytes and integers provided by programming languages. Until now, the only simple alternative to programming languages has been pseudo-code.

PlusCal is an algorithm language based on TLA+. A PlusCal algorithm is automatically translated to a TLA+ specification that can be checked with the TLC model checker or reasoned about formally. (No knowledge of TLA+ is assumed.) PlusCal makes pseudo-code obsolete.

For more information, see k.r.apt at cwi.nl