Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Hals \Hals\, n. [AS. heals; akin to D., G., & Goth. hals. See
   {Collar}.]
   The neck or throat. [Obs.]

         Do me hangen by the hals.                --Chaucer.

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

Hal/S
     
         (Hal/Shuttle) A {real-time} {high-level language}
        for flight control applications.  Hal was developed for {NASA}
        by {Intermetrics, Inc.} in the 1970s for on-board {software}.
        The initial version was a {Fortran} {preprocessor}, written in
        Fortran.  In 1972, as the space shuttle project advanced, the
        language was renamed Hal/S and made more adaptable to
        {architecture} of different computers by using {XPL}.  In all,
        11 different implementations, mostly based on {IBM 360}, were
        created.  Applications also included projects by {JPL}
        (Galileo probe, Deep Space network).
     
        ["Two-Dimensional Characteristics of HAL, A Language for
        Spaceflight Applications", J.S. Miller, SIGPLAN Notices 7(10),
        Oct 1972].
     
        ["Space Station Flight Software: Hal/S or Ada?", Allan
        R. Klumpp, "Computer", March 1985].
     
        (2002-07-13)