Computing, in addition to requiring technical expertise, is also a product of human interaction and culture. In the case of Watfor, a fast student-oriented Fortran compiler for the University of Waterloo’s IBM 7040, the “unique-within-Canada cooperative education program and pedagogical philosophy” proved to be the catalyst.

The necessity of invention critically arose in a specific educational environment, a controversial co-op program called the Waterloo Plan. The University of Waterloo was founded upon the radical notion of uniting industry and academia as an attempt to compete with the technical advances of the Soviet Union. Between 1957 and 1967, the university’s preeminent reputation can be attributed to Ralph Stanton, and then J. Wesley Graham, a top professor and a student, respectively.

This paper illustrates typical issues within university computing in the early 1960s. Where should a computer go within the university? Engineering, science, and mathematics departments all had a claim on computers, although the machines were also utilized for service; as a result, computing centers often eventually evolved into nonacademic service units.

What is the upshot of computing invention? For all the early controversy and difficulties, “Watfor’s legacy is considerable.” In addition to its enormous popularity, millions of students worldwide used it. Student-oriented compilers and software are largely unappreciated in computing history, yet this branch of computing “depended largely on the initiative of university computing centers.” Although evolutionary rather than revolutionary, Watfor is nonetheless a significant example of pedagogical philosophy, combining as it did a fruitful interaction between academia and business.