Re: Fortran vs C++ vs. etc (has little to do with realtime anymore)

[chitturk@email.uah.edu (Dr. Krishnan Chittur)]

Joseph M. O'Leary (NOSPAMjmoleary@earthlink.net) wrote:

: Jeffrey Templon <templon@studbolt.physast.uga.edu> wrote in article
: > The fact remains (and will for some time) that many scientific
: programmers
: > are scientists FIRST and programmers SECOND.  
........
: > So one of my reasons for Fortran still being around: you can write
: > a reasonable program which runs reasonably efficiently just by more
: > or less typing in an expression of a simple algorithm.  Fortran's "mental
: > model" of the computer is very simple.

Well said! ... I still have to find an environment that will allow
me to develop a GUI as simply as I can write Fortran Code to 
do calculations ... if there is one, please let me know.

There is this debate in the Chemical Engineering Community about
whether we should teach Fortran at all ... We are currently on the
side that says "yes" we should.  

More than Fortran itself, what we are trying to do is to teach
the elements of programming ... the idea that you should plan the
project, have an idea of what you want the program to do,
design the "structure" ... and then write the code ... when you
want to say "calculate the square root" ... find out if you need
to write the program or use something that is supplied by 
compiler or perhaps a set of callable routines written by someone
else ... 

In a programming course, students also learn how to develop a  
"set of routines" .. one problem is that at the time they are
learning to program, often they do not have the background
in math ... for example it is difficult at the freshman level
to have students attempt to write Fortran Code to solve say
linear algebraic problems ... 

Anyway ... Fortran is still around, will be around for 
a while ... students MUST know how to deal with it's
many strange properties ... 4 to 6 weeks exposing them
to elements of fortran 77 is worth the time ... 

Fortran 90 and F are I think a step in the right direction,
let's see how it develops ...