From Craig.Dedo@mixcom.com Wed Apr 17 21:15:49 1996 Received: from mixcom.mixcom.com (mixcom.mixcom.com [198.137.186.100]) by dkuug.dk (8.6.12/8.6.12) with ESMTP id VAA22739 for ; Wed, 17 Apr 1996 21:12:55 +0200 Received: from 156.46.43.54 by mixcom.mixcom.com (8.6.12/2.2) id OAA28094; Wed, 17 Apr 1996 14:08:42 -0500 Message-Id: <199604171908.OAA28094@mixcom.mixcom.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Date: Wed, 17 Apr 96 13:19:20 -0600 From: Craig Dedo Subject: Question on Implementation Benefits of Fortran POINTER Feature To: WG5 Mailing List X-Mailer: SPRY Mail Version: 04.00.06.17 Dear Members of the WG5 Mailing List: The past week or so people have asked me to explain the implementation benefits of the Fortran POINTER feature, especially as compared to the pointer facilities of C and C++. I do not have a clear idea as to what the advantages are and I would like to give some intelligent answers to these questions. - Why is it necessary for a target of a pointer to have either the POINTER or TARGET attribute? - What kinds of optimizations can you do with Fortran POINTERs that is either difficult or impossible with either C or C++? - How does the way that the Fortran pointer facility is defined make implementation easier than with other types of pointer models? - How does the way that the Fortran pointer facility is defined make implementation more difficult than with other types of pointer models? - Can anyone recommend any good references that I might read that will explain these issues in more detail? Remember, I am NOT an implementor and I do NOT have any training in compiler technology. I have been invited to give a talk to a group of graduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on May 2. These students are specializing in programming languages and compilers and want to know about various technical issues with respect to Fortran. I KNOW that these questions will come up and I would like to be prepared. ---------- Sincerely, Craig T. Dedo Internet: Craig.Dedo@mixcom.com Elmbrook Computer Services Voice Phone: (414) 783-5869 17130 W. Burleigh Place Brookfield, WI 53005 Disclaimer: These opinions are mine alone. USA They do NOT represent any organization. "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." -- Benjamin Franklin (1759)