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From: mic@lapis.berkeley.edu.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: NUMBERCRUNCHING on the PC: Should C be used at all?
Message-ID: <3254@jade.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: Tue, 21-Apr-87 18:17:20 EST
Article-I.D.: jade.3254
Posted: Tue Apr 21 18:17:20 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 23-Apr-87 23:36:24 EST
Sender: usenet@jade.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: mic@lapis.berkeley.edu(Michel Bruneau)
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Lines: 26

In reply to my previous question, I am convinced of the vertues of 
C for getting a closeness to the system without having to mess-up
with the assembler.  But my original question was not well 
formulated (I forgot I was talking to system programmers here).
NOW:
	In an environment where 95% of the work to be done by a
program is number-crunching, (talking about structural analysis
for civil engineerings), most people as using.. well..FORTRAN
(That's it I said the dreaded word, FORTRAN the archaic!).
Anyhow, as of today, I am not convinced that something like C will
help me do the job faster (key word), although I realise all af
of the nice tricks C will allow me to do.   
	C would maybe help me to get some nice friendly features
implemented, but not all:  For example, engineers like standards
(why would you think they stuck to Fortran for all those years).
So when come time to add graphics to a structural analysis program,
it would appear logical to use G.K.S. (another clanky standard).
Unfortunately, I have not heard of a single C compiler that will link
with the GKS librairy (but 3 fortrans do).
	Further, graphics are frill, speed is the essence of those
application (i.e. number-crunching speed).  Not everybody wants to
buy a CRAY, but one is entitled to the best performance on a given
machine.  THEREFORE, as anybody seen number crunching benchmarks
for pure calculation (no I/O) comparing C and FORTRAN????

	I am still ignorant, so please let me know....