Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!yale!ashcraft
From: ashcraft@yale.UUCP (Cleve Ashcraft)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.fortran
Subject: Re: FORTRAN horrors
Message-ID: <26372@yale-celray.yale.UUCP>
Date: 4 Apr 88 12:11:18 GMT
References: <502@amethyst.UUCP> <6702@ames.arpa>
Distribution: na
Organization: Yale University, New Haven, CT
Lines: 41
Summary: C vs Fortran in the sparse matrix field

In article <6702@ames.arpa>, eugene@pioneer.arpa (Eugene N. Miya) writes:
> In article <502@amethyst.UUCP> chris@spock.ame.arizona.edu (Chris Ott) writes:
> >     The point of my article was: Fortran should be used for certain problems
> >and C should be used for other problems. Each language has its own domain. It
> >bothers me when people start saying that some language is the best for
> >everything.
> 
> The problem comes with domains like the following: my office mate gets
> back from a conference on sparse matricies.  Fortran isn't as good as
> certain other languages for the expression of the data structure.  What
> do you do?  1) Mix <generic other language> and Fortran? 2) code purely
> in one language and live with deficiencies? 3) code in assembly language
> and hide these are a function or subroutine call in your favorite
> langauge?
> From the Rock of Ages Home for Retired Hackers:
> 
> --eugene miya, NASA Ames Research Center, eugene@ames-aurora.ARPA

I just got back from the same conference. There was very
interesting debate on this topic. The bottom line is that no one is
content with the language choice. Given a choice a lot of people
would work in C for all their numerical applications, but Cray
supports Fortran, and there is so much other code out there to be used
with it.

Having done research in sparse matrix methods the past several
years, I've written a lot of code in Fortran targeted for the
Crays. Now that I am back in academia, I can write in whatever
language I choose, and it is strictly C. My applications deal with
portions of matrices (triangular or trapezoidal data structures)
so I rarely see any need for doubly indexed arrays. Graph theory has
more clarity in C than Fortran. Calling sequences shrink due to
structures. No more DO loop labels.

I think the most positive result of Fortran 8X is to make more
people program in C. If only the C standards committee can keep
from screwing up that language. 


--Cleve Ashcraft
ashcraft@yale.arpa