Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!ames!ncar!gatech!gitpyr!loligo!mccalpin
From: mccalpin@loligo.cc.fsu.edu (John McCalpin)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.fortran
Subject: Re: An exercise in futility
Summary: ignorance is no excuse
Keywords: non-standard Fortran
Message-ID: <393@loligo.cc.fsu.edu>
Date: 10 Jan 89 14:01:06 GMT
References: <586@mbph.UUCP>
Reply-To: mccalpin@loligo.cc.fsu.edu (John McCalpin)
Organization: Supercomputer Computations Research Institute
Lines: 40

In article <586@mbph.UUCP> hybl@mbph.UUCP (Albert Hybl) writes:
>
>Most fortran programmers probably never hear of the American
>National Standards Institute, inc. or ANSI X3.9-1978; they
>learn to use fortran from their vendor's Language Reference
>Manual.  They work under the delusion that they are using
>a "STANDARD" language thinking that they are producing "PORTABLE"
>code so long as it compiles without errors.
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>Albert Hybl, PhD.              Office UUCP: uunet!mimsy!mbph!hybl

If a person does not know that a Fortran standard exists and that 
each vendor's implementation may contain non-standard features
then I think it would be inappropriate to call that person a
"Fortran programmer" --- though I agree that many such persons
exist.  

At the two universities that I have worked at, the problem is largely
caused by science departments which expect graduate students to be
competent programmers, but which do not require any formal training in
such.  The problem is compounded by computer science departments which
will not lower themselves to teach a graduate-level course in structured,
scientific programming in the Fortran-77 language.

My Control Data Fortran reference manuals clearly delimit the standard
and non-standard portions of the text.  All non-standard features are
presented with a grey (as opposed to white) background.  If a person
has the energy to read the 2-3 page introduction, the purpose of 
this curious typesetting becomes evident, and *poof*, no more excuse
for not knowing about standard and non-standard Fortran.

>  Little do they know that it is an exercise in futility.
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That seems to be your motto for Fortran programmers. Might I suggest
that a little education may be in order....
-- 
----------------------   John D. McCalpin   ------------------------
Dept of Oceanography & Supercomputer Computations Research Institute
mccalpin@masig1.ocean.fsu.edu		mccalpin@nu.cs.fsu.edu
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