HTML version of Scripted Foils prepared May 6 97

Foil 47 Comparison of Java and Fortran 77/90

From The Use of Web Technologies (at NPAC) in HPCC Collaboration and Education Trip to Digital Corporation in New Hampshire -- May 8 97. by Geoffrey C. Fox *
1 Clearly Java can easily replace Fortran as a Scientific Computing Language as can be compiled as efficiently and has much better software engineering (object) and graphics (web) capabilities
  • Fortran90 is object oriented but very small user base and not clear if will replace Fortran77
  • Note Fortran90 discussion started in 1978 (after Fortran77 agreed) and took fourteen years and even now Cray's Fortran77 compiler is (on C90 for numerical relativity) much better than their Fortran90 compiler.
  • Originally Fortran90 (as Fortran8X) was designed precisely for Cray architecture systems!
  • This illustrates that informal standards activities (as in the Web and HPF) are most appropriate for rapidly changing technologies
2 Java can unify classic science and engineering computations with more qualitative macroscopic "distributed simulation and modelling" arena which is critical in military and to some extent industry
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