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From: jav8106@ritvax.isc.rit.edu (Doctor FORTRAN)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.fortran,sci.math,comp.edu
Subject: Re: Fortran for Math Majors
Message-ID: <1991Feb18.194451.23059@isc.rit.edu>
Date: 18 Feb 91 19:05:44 GMT
References: <1991Feb12.151552.17331@pdn.paradyne.com> <13138@hubcap.clemson.edu>
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In article <13138@hubcap.clemson.edu>, mjs@hubcap.clemson.edu (m j saltzman) writes...
-As far as I know, almost no Computer Science curricula currently use
-FORTRAN as the principal instructional language (flame away, I'm ready...).

No need to flame you, Matthew -- What you mention should not surprise
subscribers to this group, because we've already established here that no
actual programming is done in Computer Science curricula. [Insert 100 ':-)'
here.]

-Finally, I think that it is relatively easy to learn to write
-FORTRAN once you know almost any other procedural language.  (Now
-the flames are really going to fly!  Oh, well...)

Again, no need for flames here. What you neglect to mention, however, is that
FORTRAN is even easier to learn if the mind has not yet been poisoned by
hacking paradigms, such as C. [Another ':-)' here.]

-buy 
-Turbo Pascal or Turbo C or some other low-priced Pascal or C 
-compiler and learn that.  If you need FORTRAN later, it will be a
-snap to learn, and you can always get the compiler then.

I'd like to proffer this caveat: If you _do_ start out with Pascal or C, buy
one from a company which also offers a FORTRAN compiler. If you start out with
Turbo C, and decide to add FORTRAN later, and wish to link FORTRAN and C stuff
together, you'll be in one heck of a jam. Easy, you say? Just buy Microsoft C
in addition to their FORTRAN product? Unfortunately, it is extremely, if not
entirely impossible, to write code to compile under one compiler and then
compile it with another with no hitches.

IM(Anything But)HO, Borland's lack of a FORTRAN compiler puts them in the bush
league. Until they produce a FORTRAN compiler, consider the prospect of having
to re-compile your C-code under somebody else's compiler if you want to add
FORTRAN later. What you want is a compiler which generates object code which
is guaranteed to be compatible with object code generated by some FORTRAN
compiler. [No smilies here.]

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