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From: khb@fatcity.Sun.COM (Keith Bierman Sun Tactical Engineering)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.fortran
Subject: Re: DO loops, anyone?
Message-ID: <94215@sun.Eng.Sun.COM>
Date: 16 Mar 89 01:22:32 GMT
References: <458@orange19.qtp.ufl.edu> <28506@sgi.SGI.COM> <22754@ames.arc.nasa.gov>
Sender: news@sun.Eng.Sun.COM
Reply-To: khb@sun.UUCP (Keith Bierman Sun Tactical Engineering)
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mountain View
Lines: 34

In article <22754@ames.arc.nasa.gov> maine@pioneer.arc.nasa.gov.UUCP (Richard Edwin Maine  D-OFA) writes:
>
>
>As an aside, has anyone noticed that the draft 8X standard (at least
>the Jun 87 version that I have) DOES require the compiler to provide
>diagnostics for code that violates the standard?  I've never seen
>much discussion of this "little" change.  I sure like it.  I've
>long taken the position that "reasonable" compilers would do this,
>but with this clause, I'd be able to make that position quite a
>bit stronger (and includable in procurement specifications, etc.)
>This would mean that if a compiler did not bitch about non-ANSI
>usages (to the extent statically determinable), I could claim
>the compiler was not in conformance.

I have not yet studied the current draft (to be voted on in May), but
the general rule of thumb is as f77... define standard conforming
PROGRAMS, not compilers (a standard comforming compiler is that thing
which compiles the entire class of standard comforming compilers
correctly). This is not an oversight, it is a very well thought out
position. Ada (and some other languages) take a very different stand.
But in order to allow compiler vendors to extend the language, the
committee has stuck with the "traditional" fortran design.

So I would not start crafting clauses about diagnostics into your
procurement spec's yet.

btw: For what it is worth, I am no longer a member of the public.
     I am now the SunAlternate to x3j3.

Cheers all.


Keith H. Bierman
It's Not My Fault ---- I Voted for Bill & Opus