What is really killing fortran is the perception that fortran == f77. Tell someone you program in fortran, and they immediately think of old,ugly f77.
I write code (both reasearch and commercial vibration analysis) in fortran90/95 every day - I use modules, I use pointers, and I get great performance. A few things I also get:
1) clean, neat code that is easy to read by non-programmers.
2) Array bounds checking by the compiler - try that with C++. Array bounds checking saves me
huge amounts of time in development.
3) Compiler checking of function calls, via encapsulation of functions in modules.
4) Easy use of BLAS and LAPACK routines for real computational work.
5) The actual function definition used for the function prototype - I don't have to maintain a
separate prototype for my functions to get the advantages of prototyping!
Fortran isn't perfect (yet). It still lacks the ability to make a function part of a data structure (ie, classes). It current i/o abilities still suck. It's ability to handle characters and character strings is terrible. But it does have advantages other than producing fast code, and it isn't your father's fortran77.
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And just how many of those lights aren't already nice, highly efficient flourescents?
What is really killing fortran is the perception that fortran == f77. Tell someone you program
in fortran, and they immediately think of old,ugly f77.
I write code (both reasearch and commercial vibration analysis) in fortran90/95 every day - I
use modules, I use pointers, and I get great performance. A few things I also get:
1) clean, neat code that is easy to read by non-programmers.
2) Array bounds checking by the compiler - try that with C++. Array bounds checking saves me
huge amounts of time in development.
3) Compiler checking of function calls, via encapsulation of functions in modules.
4) Easy use of BLAS and LAPACK routines for real computational work.
5) The actual function definition used for the function prototype - I don't have to maintain a
separate prototype for my functions to get the advantages of prototyping!
Fortran isn't perfect (yet). It still lacks the ability to make a function part of a data
structure (ie, classes). It current i/o abilities still suck. It's ability to handle characters and
character strings is terrible. But it does have advantages other than producing fast code, and it
isn't your father's fortran77.