Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!ncar!cgdisis.cgd.ucar.edu!kauff From: kauff@cgdisis.cgd.ucar.edu (Brian Kauffman) Newsgroups: comp.lang.fortran Subject: Re: Fortran - our favorite language Message-ID: <10819@ncar.ucar.edu> Date: 28 Mar 91 21:42:59 GMT References: <1991Mar20.195732.15376@appmag.com> <2218@cluster.cs.su.oz.au> <16149@chaph.usc.edu> Sender: news@ncar.ucar.edu Organization: Climate and Global Dynamics Division/NCAR, Boulder, CO Lines: 21 In article <16149@chaph.usc.edu> echeverr@sal-sun8.usc.edu (The Black Sheep) writes: >Excuse me, but is it just me, or is fortran a language so old it is becoming >obsolescent? Really, i just can't handle doing programs while tripping over >small details and phantom errors from nowhere and tricky compilations and >core dump after core dump after execution... > > Please, answer me, enlighten me on my feelings toward f77... > > ... cuz i still think it s*cks!! :-p > I hope this is enlightening: I use Fortran every day and the problems you mention are not problems for me. I've also used C extensively, but for my needs, it wouldn't be worth the effort to convert my models from Fortran to C. It seems to be a recurring theme that someone proclaims that Fortran sucks and we should all switch to C (or whatever). The bottom line is, for lots of folks, switching is not worth the effort, and quite possibly not even an improvement. -Brian