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From: mcdonald@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu
Newsgroups: comp.lang.fortran
Subject: Re: Forced variable declaration
Message-ID: <50500026@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu>
Date: 4 Feb 88 15:51:00 GMT
References: <445@drilex.UUCP>
Lines: 48
Nf-ID: #R:drilex.UUCP:445:uxe.cso.uiuc.edu:50500026:000:2374
Nf-From: uxe.cso.uiuc.edu!mcdonald    Feb  4 09:51:00 1988


>>The argument about mispelled variable names is a red
>>herring that any REAL Fortran scientific programmer would recognize.

>****FLAME ON****

>Well Mr. "real Fortran scientific programmer" (I suppose you don't eat
>quiche either), what you have just said here is just so much rubbish that any
>"real" software engineer or serious programmer would recognise.  Perhaps if
>you took more interest in Fortran language development you would have seen
>some things which might change your mind.

>**REDUCE FLAME LEVEL**

>In particular, you might have seen "M.A.T." (Maintainability Analysis Tool, I
>believe).  This is a tool for analysing Fortran programs and reporting on
>anomalous situations (variables set but not referenced, referenced but never
>set, declared but never referenced or set, with the same names as those in a
>common block occurring in a different subprogram - you get the idea).

>I cannot emphasise this enough: it is all very well to say "forced declaration
>is an unnecessary pain", but examination of the situation ***in reality***
>shows that it is a NECESSARY pain (for large programs in particular).

Really? I am getting tired of other prople trying to force religion on me.
It would seem that the answer would lie in the sort of program you
mention above, M.A.T. I have heard about it but never seen it. I'd love
to get a copy. Can you E-mail one to me? 

Actually, the question is moot as far as I am concerned. Despite all
the pain, the Fortran 8x proposal and other difficulties in Fortran,
particularly  the rigid distinction between character and integer
variables, have sent me to C. I don't like to have to declare variables,
but do like the fact that integers, characters and logicals all can be used 
easily together. I find it hard to understand how someone could object
to undeclared variables and not object to this. In fact, such people
probably like Pascal, straightjackets :-) :-) and the Marquis de Sade
:-) :-) :-) :-) :-).

The best thing to do , which would unfortunately reduce the flame level
in comp.lang.c and comp.lang.fortran, would be to recognize that programming
style is a matter of taste. What is right for one is not right for another
. (FLAME ON! SMILEY FACES OFF! I recognize this. Do you? That was my point
when I said no smiles in my earlier posting. Flame OFF!)) Frankly, I
find flames fun.


Doug McDonald