Re: Where is the elusive jump command?

[Dan Nagle <dnagle@erols.com>]

Hello,

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Original Message <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

On 3/30/00, 1:03:19 PM, "Marin D. Condic" 
<mcondic-nospam@quadruscorp.com> wrote regarding Re: Where is the 
elusive jump command?:

<snip requoted discussion>

> Aside from the fact that there is tons of Fortran code lying around
> already, is there any reason why "number crunching" or
> "scientific/engineering software" couldn't be taught/done in Ada? My
> Fortran experience was back in the Fortran 77 days and I don't recall
> anything being in the language that couldn't be done just as well - if
> not better - in Ada95. (Especially given Ada's type capabilities and
> precise definitions for math ops, numeric attributes, etc.)

I'm learning Ada, so I won't comment on "type capabilities etc.", but
I think any language I ever saw has a long way to go to catch up with
Fortran's kind mechanism.  Which numeric attributes do you think are
present in Ada and not Fortran?

This discussion appeared in c.l.a, what? A year ago?  Fortran has many
features which allow extremely aggressive optimization by the 
compiler.
I know of many Fortran applications where a single run is thousands
of hours of Cray cpu time, so a percent or two is important.

Does Ada have any loop, branch or assignment statements, which, by 
definition,
may be executed in parallel?  My reading and exercises haven't shown
them to me yet.  Maybe I just haven't gotten to the right chapter...

> And if the only argument against it is the tons of existing math
> libraries, then theres Ada's interface capability to argue in its 
favor.

If I can learn enough Ada, and find the time, and can persuade J3,
then I'm willing to write an Ada interface for Fortran.  Fortran 2000
will have a C interface.

> Its a market that could be tapped - and maybe one that isn't already
> anti-Ada biased. Hmmmmmmmmm........

Of course, it could become anti-Ada if there's too much Fortran 
bashing.
Lately, this newsgroup has sounded a bit like some of the C++ guys
who "drop in" over in comp.lang.fortran for a little flame fest.
(bring your own wienies ;-)

<snip sig>

I think I've posted this before, but...
I'd like to fly in an airplane designed in Fortran (not C++),
where the fly-by-wire is Ada (not Java).

-- 
Cheers!

Dan Nagle, eMail: dnagle@erols.com
Purple Sage Computing Solutions, Inc.,
12142 Purple Sage Ct., Reston VA 20194