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From: mcdonald@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu
Newsgroups: comp.lang.fortran
Subject: Re: F8X comments
Message-ID: <50500016@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu>
Date: Sat, 14-Nov-87 11:23:00 EST
Article-I.D.: uxe.50500016
Posted: Sat Nov 14 11:23:00 1987
Date-Received: Mon, 16-Nov-87 05:08:23 EST
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Nf-From: uxe.cso.uiuc.edu!mcdonald    Nov 14 10:23:00 1987


>/* Written  8:29 am  Nov 13, 1987 by ags@j.cc.purdue.edu in uxe.cso.uiuc.edu:comp.lang.fortran */

>Common blocks will no longer be needed.  Why burden implementors with
>something that is unnecessary?  Why encourage users to stick to outmoded
>features of the language?

>-- 
>Dave Seaman	  					
>ags@j.cc.purdue.edu
>/* End of text from uxe.cso.uiuc.edu:comp.lang.fortran */

Common blocks are the standard way of allocating global memory in Fortran,
and have been since the 1950's. I don't see them as unnecessary. If they
are removed, about 90% of all the Fortran programs I now use will break.
I simply don't understand why they are "no longer needed". If I feed a 
Fortran program , which now compiles and runs correctly ,  to a compiler
which omit common blocks, how is it going to work? I see it as a absolute
, unchangeble, immutable fact: any legal Fortran program I now have MUST
compile and run correctly on any Fortran compiler I pay for in the future.
If it doesn't, that compiler is broken, and I will damn sure get my money 
back. It's OK to add features to a language, but never, ever, under any
circumstances, remove them. Fortran 77 was bad enough, with the minor
difficulty caused by removing Holleriths from some compilers. The proposed
F8x is far worse.

Perhaps someone will explain how my present programs will work without
common, if they now use it? Will you volunteer to conver all my old
programs to F8X or C. If you won't do the job for me, why not? 

Doug McDonald