Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!rex!ginosko!uunet!gistdev!flint
From: flint@gistdev.UUCP (Flint Pellett)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: C vs. FORTRAN
Message-ID: <469@gistdev.UUCP>
Date: 4 Aug 89 18:43:32 GMT
References: <3288@ohstpy.mps.ohio-state.edu> <10664@smoke.BRL.MIL>
Organization: Global Information Systems Technology Inc., Savoy, IL
Lines: 11


One thing I've heard FORTRAN touted for was "portability": the claim being
that it is more portable than any other language.  I don't believe that:
C is far more portable.  I base that conclusion on this fact: C has defined
standards for capailities FORTRAN doesn't have standards for.  For
example, C code to get the command line arguments works everywhere, but
in FORTRAN, if you can even do it, you can guarantee that the way you
do it doesn't match from system to system.  The same goes for library
calls, on some very basic things: one system will have "ior(), the next
will name it "or()".  Then comes hex constants: where you have to convert
the z'abcd' of one compiler into #abcd for another, etc.