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From: hirchert@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu
Newsgroups: comp.lang.fortran
Subject: Fortran 8x: user-defined types
Message-ID: <50500141@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu>
Date: 7 Jul 89 16:58:00 GMT
Lines: 20
Nf-ID: #N:uxe.cso.uiuc.edu:50500141:000:939
Nf-From: uxe.cso.uiuc.edu!hirchert    Jul  7 11:58:00 1989


Several people have expressed disappointment that user-defined types in
Fortran 8x are always structures.  In particular, they would like to give
a name to a particular KIND of INTEGER or REAL.

I can think of several possible meanings for user-defined types:
1. a shorthand notation that is indistiguishable from direct use of its
   definition
2. a semantically distinct type that inherits the operations applicable to
   its definition
3. a semantically distinct type that inherits some of operations applicable
   to its definition (e.g. to simulate unit analysis)
4. a semantically distinct type whose operations are defined by the user

Fortran 8x user-defined types belong to the 4th class.  What you are asking for
appears to be either the 1st or 2nd class.  I see no reason to expect that
one feature should be expected to provide both.

Kurt W. Hirchert     hirchert@ncsa.uiuc.edu
National Center for Supercomputing Applications