Newsgroups: comp.lang.fortran
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca!mroussel
From: mroussel@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca (Marc Roussel)
Subject: Re: F90 compiler from NAG
Message-ID: <1991Jun21.214012.5405@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca>
Organization: Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto
References: <MAINE.91Jun21102248@altair.dfrf.nasa.gov>
Date: Fri, 21 Jun 1991 21:40:12 GMT

In article <MAINE.91Jun21102248@altair.dfrf.nasa.gov>
maine@altair.dfrf.nasa.gov (Richard Maine) writes:
>I've been anxiously awaiting the latest issue of the Fortran Journal
>ever since Walt Brainerd posted a message here saying that it included
>an announcement of the first full F90 compiler.
[...]
>The compiler is from NAG (Numerical Analysis Group) from the UK.
[...]
>It "compiles" the full language F90 into C.

     I was quite eager to get my hands on the latest issue of the
Fortran Journal for the same reason.  Am I the only one who felt a
little disappointed with this "compiler"?  While I don't doubt that this
product has its uses, I don't think I'd call it a compiler; it's a
translator.  At some point, I will have to involve a real C compiler in the
process; at best that makes the F90 thing a preprocessor for C.  That being the
case, how will it communicate to the C compiler the optimizations which
are uniquely available because of the peculiarities of F90?  (I am not a
compiler writer.  If there are no such peculiarities, I withdraw my
comment.  However I'm quite certain that there must be some features of the
two languages which allow different optimizations.)  Nevertheless, I
applaud NAG for getting this F90 thing out so quickly, whatever you call
it.  I'm sure that a lot of real compiler writers will find such an
implementation invaluable in their efforts.

				Marc R. Roussel
                                mroussel@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca
