Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!mcvax!enea!tut!tolsun!jto
From: jto@tolsun.oulu.fi (Jarkko Oikarinen)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: Why I use C instead of fortran
Message-ID: <257@tolsun.oulu.fi>
Date: 31 Jan 88 12:00:53 GMT
References: <11440@brl-adm.ARPA> <3597@sdcc6.ucsd.EDU>
Reply-To: jto@tolsun.UUCP (Jarkko Oikarinen)
Organization: University of Oulu, Finland
Lines: 35

(Just forwarding this message...)

In article <3597@sdcc6.ucsd.EDU> (Tom Stockfish) writes:

/* Several lines deleted */

>In C you can write interactive programs
>in which you input complex commands which are then parsed and
>executed. In fortran you write programs which just prompt
>you to input x and y and then
>follow a fixed regimen. ...
Which command(s) FORTRAN is(are) missing that make interactive 
programs impossibility? 

For serious number-crunching I think FORTRAN is superior to C.
 1) COMPLEX variables: Write complex arcus hyperbolic tangent in C!
 2) single precision: all (ALL) real math is performed in double
      precision in C. This takes time, especially if you have no
      db floating point support. Transcendental functions require
      far more (double) multiplications than single versions.

      This is very advantageous in graphics where no great precision
      and a lot of computation is required.

I agree the limitation of FORTRAN, which were supposed to be corrected
on ANSI FORTRAN 8X, but it never appeared(to my knowledge).

        Jouko Holopainen
        University of OULU (FINLAND)
        dept. of electrical engineering
-- 
========================================
Jarkko Oikarinen     ...!tut!oulu!jarkko
                   jarkko@tolsun.oulu.fi
========================================