Is Fortran the newer version of FORTRAN ( I II IV )?
On Mon, 21 Jun 2021, Chuck Guzis via cctalk wrote:
My recollection from X3J3 is that "Fortran" was officially endorsed with
F90. F77 still has FORTRAN officially.
After "FORTRAN 77", but before "Fortran 90", "Fortran 8X"
(DOD extensions standardized, etc.)
The FORTRAN that I used on the 1620 (1967-1969 at Merritt College (home of
the Black Panthers) in Oakland) was a possibly local variant called "PDQ
FORTRAN" ("Pretty Damn Quick"?)
In 1983, I got hired to teach FORTRAN and Microcomputer Operating Systems
at Merritt, which was now up on the hill, out of reach of the flatlands
Oakland politics. The existing teacher had walked out, and I was hired as
a long-term substitute hours before the class met.
I continued running a software business, in addition to "full-time"
teaching.
They had had a DEC machine whose drive had never been reliable. Then they
sold that to Richmond public school district and bought a roomfulo of
5150s.
I taught using IBM PC FORTRAN, which was just fine for teaching, but
extraordinarily slow (Sieve of Erastothanes benchmark was slower than
interpreted BASIC).
When Richmond installed it, PG&E got it wrong about Delta VS WYE three
phase power! But, in exchange for everybody publicly saying that it had
been a "lightning strike" that did it in, PG&E bought Richmond Schools a
replacement machine, and the drive reliability problems were finally
solved.
I stayed in the Peralta Community College District, that Merritt was part
of, for more than 30 years, and retired with a decent stable state
administerd pension and very good unstable college administered health
benefits.
--
Grumpy Ol' Fred [email protected]
