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From: jf@threel.co.uk (John Fisher)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.fortran
Subject: Re: Our favorite language
Message-ID: <27fc5084@ThreeL.co.uk>
Date: 5 Apr 91 10:25:08 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Lines: 27

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...

Lots of people use the language without having the problems you mention. 
You might find it profitable to compare this fact with your own experience. 
If you call yourself a programmer, you should consider it a matter of
professional pride to be able to master *any* language without too much
difficulty.  If you can't, perhaps you should consider whether you should
find another field of endeavour. 

In more general terms, I can't see the point of postings like this.  I
don't read this newsgroup because I *like* Fortran, but because Fortran is
an important aspect of my work, and I need the news and the help.  People
who work in university environments may be suprised to hear that it is not
the case that everyone can chose the language they work with; to many
people it is a given. 

To me it seems out of order to bust into a newsgroup and simply say, "You
guys are wasting your time", without giving any substantive reasons and
disregarding everybody else's agendas. 

--John