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From: bean@putter.wpd.sgi.com (Bean Anderson)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.fortran
Subject: Fortran 9X replaced by Ada 9X ?
Message-ID: <1990Sep13.013750.24378@relay.wpd.sgi.com>
Date: 13 Sep 90 01:37:50 GMT
Sender: news@relay.wpd.sgi.com ( CNews Account )
Reply-To: bean@putter.wpd.sgi.com (Bean Anderson)
Organization: Silicon Graphics Inc.
Lines: 29


Ada has a new standard coming down the pike that addresses,
amoung other things, Ada's floating point weaknesses and should
make it acceptable in the high speed computation environments
that traditionally have been dominated by Fortran.

Many major traditional Fortran users are already switching
over to Ada (e.g. NASA).   Fortran 9X is becoming a complex
language and those who want the extra features are going to 
switch to Ada -- those who do not want the extra features
will stick with Fortran 77.  Therefore, Fortran 9X will not
be a major commercial language.  

I've heard this argument from several sources and I've seen
the evidence myself of the switch to Ada.    I know of 
several major companies that are either not doing a Fortran 9X
compiler or are only paying lip service to the project.

Obviously, those of us in the compiler business need to 
predict as accurately as possible what the customer base
really wants (as opposed to what *we* think they need) in
order to plan our future work.  

So, netland, what is the future for Fortran 9X?  Is this
argument just so much hogwash?  Will Fortran live forever?



		Bean