Here's the question I have about Fortran support. Why does IBM support modern
Fortran on platforms like Linux and AIX, but mainframe Fortran (IBM VS FORTRAN)
is still at FORTRAN 77 level and seems to have had no enhancements other than
Language Environment support since...1993? I know if I were a Fortran
developer this would piss me off greatly.
________________________________
From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU> on behalf of
Evans-Young, Darren <dar...@ua.edu>
Sent: Monday, June 8, 2020 8:16 PM
To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU <IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU>
Subject: Re: COBOL Question
FORTRAN 90 was a significant upgrade over previous standards. Mainly, free-form
input source statements.
Also, increase the length of identifiers from 6 characters to 31 characters,
and upper/lowecase keywords/identifiers.
The latest standard is Fortran 2018.
I still teach Fortran to my Honor students. It's easy to learn for a first
programming language, very forgiving, and
you can do a lot with it. I still get flack from uninformed individuals, you
know, the ones that say no one uses mainframes
anymore, no one uses Fortran anymore, no on uses COBOL anymore. Every year, a
couple of my students email me back
to say how having Fortran experience on their resume helped them land a job or
internship; companies like NASA, NOAA,
Lockheed-Martin, etc. They are usually the only applicants out of hundreds that
list Fortran experience.
Darren
________________________________
From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU> on behalf of
lenru...@gmail.com <lenru...@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, June 8, 2020 8:52 PM
To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU <IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU>
Subject: Re: COBOL Question
On, long ago and on some DOS/VS Cobol compiler, after a compiler upgrade, there
was a problem with a statement something like this:
READ some-file AT END do somethingMOVE A TO B.
See the problem? The period after the AT END was omitted. The old compiler
only allowed one statement after AT END (maybe a bug) but after it honored the
period.
It was a bear to find. It worked before and for a long time after the compiler
change, until it was complied again.
On Monday, June 8, 2020, 08:22:18 PM CDT, Frank Swarbrick
<frank.swarbr...@outlook.com> wrote:
I've been teaching myself (modern) Fortran the last few weeks. Just because.
It has an interesting behavior that I kind of like.
Normal IF statement:
if (something) then
<statement 1>
<statement 2>
end if
But it also has a "one line IF" (not sure offhand of the Fortran "name" for
this):
if (something) <single statement>
<single statement> must be on the same line as the if and the condition (unless
you specify the "line continuation character"), and of course only one
statement is allowed. Kind of like the C/Java if statement with out a
statement block, but less dangerous because of the "on the same line"
requirement. Here is one way I've used it in practice.
call get_command_argument(1, host)
if (inet_addr(host) .lt. 0) call error_stop("Host must be in dotted decimal
format.")
call get_command_argument(2, port_str)
read (port_str, '(i5)', iostat = iostat) port ! convert string 'port_str' to
integer 'port'
if (iostat .ne. 0 .or. port .le. 0) call error_stop("Port must be positive
numeric (0-32767).")
Using "if/then" instead of just "if" I'd have had this:
call get_command_argument(1, host)
if (inet_addr(host) .lt. 0) then
call error_stop("Host must be in dotted decimal format.")
end if
call get_command_argument(2, port_str)
read (port_str, '(i5)', iostat = iostat) port ! convert string 'port_str' to
integer 'port'
if (iostat .ne. 0 .or. port .le. 0) then
call error_stop("Port must be positive numeric (0-32767).")
end if
Given by absolute druthers I would have the then clause part of the single line
if instead of the if/end if, but its still pretty nice regardless, as it
doesn't cause as much "clutter" as error handling often does.
On a side note, I think Fortran has done a much better job than COBOL of adding
"modern" features (starting with Fortran 90 in 1990). If only the COBOL
"designers" had followed in their footsteps.
And in my mind Fortran had even more to "make up" for in regards to it's less
than ideal beginnings. Which Fortran can even be forgiven for then, being I
believe about five years older than COBOL (Cobol?).
________________________________
From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU> on behalf of Bob
Bridges <robhbrid...@gmail.com>
Sent: Sunday, June 7, 2020 12:35 PM
To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU <IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU>
Subject: Re: COBOL Question
The only language I can think of off-hand that doesn't require some sort of END
to close a DO (I'm sure there are others) is ISPF. But, in REXX at least, I
never use single-statement DOs. I see them all the time, and I don't get it.
Like this:
if x=0 then do
x=x+1
end
Or, more painfully:
select
when idx="T" then
do
countt=countt+1
end
when idx="U" then
do
countu=countu+1
end
when idx="V" then
do
countv=countv+1
end
when idx="W" then
do
countw=countw+1
end
otherwise
do
countx=countx+1
end
end
Why? If it were easier to read, I might sympathize. But it's harder, not
easier.
---
Bob Bridges, robhbrid...@gmail.com, cell 336 382-7313
/* It's a good thing Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg Address the year that he did,
or else that "fourscore and seven years" part would have just been plain wrong.
-Paul Paternoster */
-----Original Message-----
From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On Behalf
Of Paul Gilmartin
Sent: Saturday, June 6, 2020 14:40
But in Rexx similarly, END is required even for a single-statement DO.
Good for Rexx. I like strong closure.
>--- On 6 Jun 2020 10:53:44 -0700, (Bob Bridges) wrote:
>>Oh, you need an END-IF even for a single-statement IF? I forgot; I've been
>>thinking in REXX too long. In that case you're close; I guess I really meant
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