Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!unmvax!brainerd From: brainerd@unmvax.unm.edu (Walt Brainerd) Newsgroups: comp.lang.fortran Subject: Re: X3 Vote on Fortran 8x Message-ID: <427@unmvax.unm.edu> Date: 20 Oct 89 15:17:03 GMT References: <2192@convex.UUCP> <426@unmvax.unm.edu> Distribution: comp.lang.fortran Organization: University of New Mexico at Albuquerque Lines: 28 In article , lamson@sierra.steinmetz.ge.com (scott h lamson) writes: > > It has been too long waiting for a revised standard to undertake new > initiatives at this point. But we could reconsider some things removed > from the first draft standard in the spirit of comprimise. I would > like to see parameterized derived types first, with perhaps limiting > this to non-precision parameters. This would be useful for defining > matrices as derived types, especially sparse or symmetric arrays of > size n by n. Should we reconsider removing the depracated features > sooner? And provide only the new source form, with a requirement that > the processor include a filter to convert the old source form to the > new source form. > These are thoughts that occur to me also upon hearing about the X3 vote. At the WG5 meeting last summer, preliminary proposals were made to fix many of these things (also such things as the "user-defined" character set and structures in common), but were not passed in the spirit of trying to compromise with X3J3 and get the job done. Most of the rest of the world feels stronly about these topics and surely would like to make them right again. However, this must be balanced against the possibility of further delay and removing the possibility that at least one of the US standards might match the ISO standard. These ideas need further exploration and discussion. -- Walt Brainerd Unicomp, Inc. brainerd@unmvax.cs.unm.edu 2002 Quail Run Dr. NE Albuquerque, NM 87122 505/275-0800