For some programs it is desirable to use existing mathematical libraries written in C or Fortran or other languages, e.g. the NAG libraries.
This is possible by externally loading the libraries into Poplog. This can save work duplicating code, and also produce faster performance than rewriting the programs in Pop-11.
The mechanisms for linking in external programs are described in
REF EXTERNAL REF EXTERNAL_DATA REF DEFSTRUCT These files describe the basic mechanisms for linking in and communicating with "external" programs. HELP EXTERNAL HELP NEWEXTERNAL HELP NEWC_DEC HELP FORTRAN_DEC These files describe higher level language-specific tools for managing external programs.