3 ms·

Interesting, I assumed all high performance packages for science and math either used c or c++! Is there a reason to use Fortran instead?

• detaro 4y ago
  Fortran has enough critical mass in that field. I.e. good libraries and applications are written in Fortran, so enough people in the field learn Fortran and use Fortran instead of spending time rewriting stuff that works and is well-tested in C++.
  • naasking 4y ago
    It's also that there is no recognition or other incentives for developing or maintaining software in these fields. There was an article a week or so ago about a growing panic in particle physics over an important C program maintained for 40 years by a single prof who will soon retire.
• wglb 4y ago
  From the standpoint of an optimizing compiler, Fortran is much easier to optomize. The existence of pointers in C make that much more difficult. As Francis Allen said (paraphrasing) "The prevalence of C has set back programming language research by decades."