What is the Competition?
So existing Grande codes are written in Fortran C and C++ with a clearly unattractive and comparatively unproductive programming environment
These current languages and tools are sufficient but does not seem likely that can build much better environments around them
- Fortran77 has excellent compilers, good user base but will not be taught broadly and clearly limited in capabilities; in particular not object oriented
- Fortran90 and HPF will not “make it” (reasons not important)
- Subsume discussion of C under that of C++
Five years ago, it looked as though C++ could become language of choice (perhaps with Fortran as inner core) but this appears stalled
- The language is complex and splintered with no agreement on Grande standards -- partly because use in Grande applications is too small to motivate standards and partly due to culture
- Java halted C++”bandwagon”
So there is no competition -- Java is currently our only hope