Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!rochester!udel!garrett From: garrett@udel.EDU (Joel Garrett) Newsgroups: comp.lang.fortran Subject: Re: Why Does MS Fortran Compiler Need So Many %*&^%!! Floppies? Message-ID: <403@louie.udel.EDU> Date: Thu, 30-Jul-87 19:45:25 EDT Article-I.D.: louie.403 Posted: Thu Jul 30 19:45:25 1987 Date-Received: Sat, 1-Aug-87 11:10:05 EDT References: <1471@briar.Philips.Com> Organization: University of Delaware Lines: 37 Summary: Optimization for starters... In article <1471@briar.Philips.Com>, ams@philabs.Philips.Com (M. Ali Shaik) writes: > Could someone please explain, in English, why the MS Fortran compiler > needs about 5 floppies? I just 'installed' one on a IBM PC (the installation > process itself is a bitch, switching floppies in&out of disk drives. MS > advises users to make backup copies of the distribution disks, all six > of them, and 'installing' requires yet another 5 floppies to produce the > working compiler. Total = 11 floppies!). To compile a three line Fortran > program I had to switch three compiler floppies in & out of the drive! > > As a non- computer scientist, I think about why the Turbo-Pascal compiler > sits on a fraction of one floppy- one would imagine Pascal needs more > space due to all the fancy data structures, and other features like recursion, > etc. > > Ali Shaik ihnp4!philabs!ams Well, for starters, Turbo Pascal is not an optimizing compiler - in order to tightly optimize code, the Fortran compiler has to make several passes through the source, each pass making optimizations, and producing what leads to the final code. Also, Turbo is limited (without using after-market extensions and using the heap) to a data segment of 64k, while Fortran allows programs to have practically unlimited data and code space. MS Fortran also provides hooks for using a symbolic debugger, Codeview. Turbo is not a full implementation of Pascal, it has some extensions and doesn't come up to stand ards in other places, but MS Fort is fully compliant with the Fortran-77 spec and also has extensions. Finally, MS Fort produces standard microsoft .obj files as output, but Turbo pascal either compiles to memory or a .com file. The production of modules is nice, because you can program in modules more easily (ie recompile only one subroutine instead of the whole program if you change anything.) I'm sure I missed a few things, but that's about all I can think of off the top of my head. I do wish, however, that MS had a "Quick" type Fortran as for a lot of things (quick experimentation and "off the cuff" computation) the normal compiler is just way to bulky - Lahey has come out with a "Personal" fortran compiler, with limitations similar to turbo pascal, which hopefully will spur some more development in this area Joel Garrett or