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From: ags@seaman.cc.purdue.edu (Dave Seaman)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.fortran
Subject: Re: What is the FORTRAN for ?
Message-ID: <13441@mentor.cc.purdue.edu>
Date: 29 Aug 90 15:33:46 GMT
References: <13393@mentor.cc.purdue.edu> <61409@lanl.gov>
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Reply-To: ags@seaman.cc.purdue.edu (Dave Seaman)
Organization: Purdue University
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In article <61409@lanl.gov> jlg@lanl.gov (Jim Giles) writes:

[Re:  recompiling instead of building bridges]

>If you have that attitude, you must have had better luck converting
>code between compilers than I have.  Even compiler which are _meant_
>to have the same functionality often don't.  On the Cray, switching
>between CFT and CFT77 is not a simple task.  It is useful to do this
>conversion in an evolutionary way - changing a few routines or sets
>of routines at a time and linking the results together.

I have spent a fair amount of time converting Fortran codes between
compilers, sometimes on the same machine, sometimes on different
machines.  I did not say it was easy.  I suggested that it is easier
than building "substantial bridges".  What happens when your machine is
eventually replaced, and your "substantial bridge" goes with it?

>> There is no mechanism in Fortran without modules for a user even
>> to force multiple routines by the same name to be loaded; [...]
>
>Nonsense.  We have done just exactly that for years.  Modules are
>a mechanism for defining the scope of global data items (common blocks,
>and subroutines in Fortran).  As such, they are completely implementable
>in the _loader_ (after all, that's the only tool that implements the
>scope rules of globals).

My mistake.  I meant to say, "no mechanism in STANDARD Fortran."  I have been
noticing for some time that you always exclude extensions when they are
inconvenient for your position, but you are quick to include them when you
see an advantage.  You even ruled out extensions earlier in this thread,
when you thought I might be about mention some.

--
Dave Seaman	  					
ags@seaman.cc.purdue.edu