(j3.2006) Public Comment J32034

[Jim Xia]

j3-bounces at j3-fortran.org wrote on 07/16/2008 09:41:58 PM:

> 
> On Wed, 2008-07-16 at 19:28 -0600, Jim Giles wrote:
> > ASSOCIATE isn't a new consruct, so I didn't comment on it at all.
> > Actually I find it appalling.
> 
> It's just an inline internal procedure.  What's appalling about that?

Actually not just users find it appalling, implementers too found it 
appalling.  Since it looks more like a pointer assignment than an inline 
function call (or argument association), I'll bet you most of people will 
try to understand the feature from that angle.

> 
> It's a degenerate case of SELECT TYPE, with prettier and less confusing
> spelling than
> 
>   SELECT TYPE ( A => <messy designator> )
>   CLASS DEFAULT
>     stuff involving A instead of <messy designator>
>   END SELECT

Except that the <messy designator> here in the SELECT TYPE has to be 
polymorphic, and there is no such restrictions on ASSOCIATE construct.  I 
found this ASSOCIATE construct is much more appalling than SELECT TYPE. So 
far I haven't found a convincing evidence for its necessity in the 
language.

Cheers,

Jim Xia

RL Fortran Compiler Test
IBM Toronto Lab at 8200 Warden Ave, Markham, On, L6G 1C7
Phone (905) 413-3444  Tie-line 313-3444
email: jimxia at ca.ibm.com
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