(j3.2006) Units of measurement in Fortran

[Bill Long]

On 4/22/11 11:08 AM, Rasmussen, Craig E wrote:
> I know of now one using Fortress in my community.  Chapel had some initial interest but I've been told there is little to no interest in moving from Fortran to Chapel either.
>

Similar experience.  Of course, we welcome poor C++ souls to migrate to 
Chapel.   I don't see Chapel as targeting the Fortran crowd anyway.

> If there is a drift away from Fortran it is to C++.

That was the case several years ago.  Not as clear any more (except at 
"religious" sites).

> Three arguments I've heard for converting to C++ are:

> 1. That's what young programmers know;

The young programmers know Java. Some  know C.  Anyone worth hiring can 
learn Fortran.

> 2.  There is a lack of tools for Fortran; and

As well as for other languages.

> 3. Fortran is slow to support the latest hardware (like GPUs).

Interesting comment.  We're working on GPU support for Fortran first, 
C/C++ secondary for now.  Do you think there is much support for GPU's 
in C/C++ now?  (I don't count stuff like CUDA or OpenCL as "support" for 
normal programmers.)

Cheers,
Bill




-- 
Bill Long                                           longb at cray.com
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