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From: jejones@mcrware.UUCP (James Jones)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.fortran
Subject: Re: F8X comments
Message-ID: <560@mcrware.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 17-Nov-87 11:11:00 EST
Article-I.D.: mcrware.560
Posted: Tue Nov 17 11:11:00 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 20-Nov-87 07:02:13 EST
References: <50500015@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu> <50500016@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu>
Organization: Microware Systems Corp., Des Moines, Ia.
Lines: 19
Summary: why deprecate COMMON?

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> 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? 

I wouldn't, because COMMON blocks and EQUIVALENCE are major sources of
obfuscation in FORTRAN programs.  From the point of view of writing
intelligible programs, the sooner they go away, the better.  (I have
yet to read the standard, so I can't say for sure, but I certainly
hope that the designers have provided reasonable, disciplined ways to
do the things one must currently do with COMMON in FORTRAN.)

As a student assistant in a university comp center, I saw the results
of the great tradition of engineering instructors who no doubt were
quite capable in other ways teaching another generation of engineering
students to program as incompetently in FORTRAN as they did.  If F8X
provides a route out of this vicious cycle, then great.

		James Jones