Basic HTML version of Foils prepared October 2 1998

Foil 6 What is the Competition?

From Java Grande (a.k.a. Java for High Performance Computing) in a Nutshell Sun MicroSystems Java Day at MIT (Marriot Hotel Cambridge MA) -- Sept 25 1998. by Geoffrey C. Fox


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



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