Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!iuvax!uxc!uxc.cso.uiuc.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!uxe.cso.uiuc.edu!hirchert
From: hirchert@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu
Newsgroups: comp.lang.fortran
Subject: Re: Bogosity in Gould FORTRAN?
Message-ID: <50500127@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu>
Date: 4 May 89 16:11:00 GMT
References: <7863@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu>
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Nf-ID: #R:batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu:7863:uxe.cso.uiuc.edu:50500127:000:1165
Nf-From: uxe.cso.uiuc.edu!hirchert    May  4 11:11:00 1989


. Why the standard doesn't specify that files are read from the beginning.

  A number of systems support the concept of multi-file files (at least on
  tape) or other features in which system prepositioning is useful.  It would
  be decidedly unfriendly to force the processor to blow that preprocessing
  away (especially for output files).  [The Fortran 8x draft has a new OPEN
  option that allows you to specify whether you want to start at the beginning
  of the file, the end of the file, or where the system has left you
  positioned.]

. A possible reason why Gould is opening files at the end.

  The original f77 compiler for Unix systems did this.  It was done for a
  number of reasons.  In particular, it provides a more convenient way to
  add to the end of a sequential file than having to read through the entire
  file.  [Since Fortran 8x provides an explicit way to ask for positioning at
  the end of a file, we can hope that vendors will be smart enough to make the
  default system positioning be to the beginning of the file rather than the
  end.]

Kurt W. Hirchert     hirchert@ncsa.uiuc.edu
National Center for Supercomputing Applications