In the CODIL interpreters information about the tasks being executed is mapped from the CODIL text onto a table which represent a map of a recursive network where each node in the network represents a set or a partition of a set. To keep the human interface the syntax is a simple as possible and it is not concerned about the conventional distinction between "program" and "data".
CODIL is best understood in similar way to a symbolic assembly language designed to work on a recursive network. A conventional symbolic language consists of simple lists of commands mapped onto successive cells in an array. However each command has a syntax structure which includes an explicit instruction and control and/or address information.
