(j3.2006) Meaning of "reference a variable"

[Aleksandar Donev]

Hi,

Question on terminology (following Mike's concerns). In this example:

real, target :: x
real :: p

p=>x
write(*,*) p

Does the write statement "reference" the variable x? Or does it just reference 
p? Certainly its execution requires the value of x. But our definition of 
"reference" talks about designators:

"A data object reference is the appearance of the data object designator in a 
context requiring its value at that point during execution."

The problem is the definite article in "the data object designator", as if 
there is only one designator that gets to the same value.

Thanks,
Aleks

-- 
Aleksandar Donev, Ph.D.
Lawrence Postdoctoral Fellow @ LLNL
High Performance Computational Materials Science and Chemistry
E-mail: donev1 at llnl.gov
Phone: (925) 424-6816  Fax: (925) 423-0785
Address: P.O.Box 808, L-367, Livermore, CA 94551-9900
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