WATFOR (Waterloo FORTRAN) is a programming language developed at the University of Waterloo in Canada in the 1970s. It was designed to make FORTRAN more accessible to beginners by adding new features and simplifying the syntax. Despite being an older language, WATFOR is still used in some academic settings and has applications in various scientific and engineering fields. In this guide, we will provide a brief overview of WATFOR's history, syntax, and applications, along with an example of how to write a simple program in the language.

Historical Overview:
WATFOR was developed in the early 1970s by a group of researchers led by Michael S. Jenkins at the University of Waterloo in Canada. The language was created to make it easier for students and beginners to learn FORTRAN, which was a popular language for scientific and engineering applications at the time. WATFOR was designed to be more user-friendly than FORTRAN, with simpler syntax and new features such as interactive debugging and error reporting.

Syntax Guide:
WATFOR is a procedural programming language, similar to FORTRAN, that uses a structured programming paradigm. WATFOR programs consist of statements, which are executed in order from top to bottom. The syntax of WATFOR is similar to FORTRAN, but with some differences. Here is an example of a simple program in WATFOR that prints "Hello, World!" to the console:

```
PROGRAM HELLO
      WRITE (6,10)
 10   FORMAT ('HELLO, WORLD!')
      END
```

In this example, the `WRITE` statement prints the string "HELLO, WORLD!" to the console using the format specified in the `FORMAT` statement.

Applications:
WATFOR has applications in various scientific and engineering fields, where FORTRAN is still widely used. It is often used in academic settings for teaching introductory programming courses, as it is easy to learn and use. Some examples of applications of WATFOR include numerical analysis, simulation, and scientific computing.

Conclusion:
In conclusion, WATFOR is an older but still relevant programming language that can be useful for beginners and professionals alike. Its simplified syntax and interactive debugging features make it a good language for teaching introductory programming courses, while its applications in scientific and engineering fields make it a valuable tool for professionals. If you are interested in learning WATFOR, the best way to get started is by practicing writing simple programs and exploring the language's features and capabilities.