Newsgroups: comp.lang.fortran Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca!mroussel From: mroussel@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca (Marc Roussel) Subject: Re: F90 compiler from NAG Message-ID: <1991Jun21.214012.5405@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca> Organization: Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto References: Date: Fri, 21 Jun 1991 21:40:12 GMT In article maine@altair.dfrf.nasa.gov (Richard Maine) writes: >I've been anxiously awaiting the latest issue of the Fortran Journal >ever since Walt Brainerd posted a message here saying that it included >an announcement of the first full F90 compiler. [...] >The compiler is from NAG (Numerical Analysis Group) from the UK. [...] >It "compiles" the full language F90 into C. I was quite eager to get my hands on the latest issue of the Fortran Journal for the same reason. Am I the only one who felt a little disappointed with this "compiler"? While I don't doubt that this product has its uses, I don't think I'd call it a compiler; it's a translator. At some point, I will have to involve a real C compiler in the process; at best that makes the F90 thing a preprocessor for C. That being the case, how will it communicate to the C compiler the optimizations which are uniquely available because of the peculiarities of F90? (I am not a compiler writer. If there are no such peculiarities, I withdraw my comment. However I'm quite certain that there must be some features of the two languages which allow different optimizations.) Nevertheless, I applaud NAG for getting this F90 thing out so quickly, whatever you call it. I'm sure that a lot of real compiler writers will find such an implementation invaluable in their efforts. Marc R. Roussel mroussel@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca