🚀 go-pugleaf

mrs@netcom.COM (Morgan Schweers) writes:

>    Then when I finally took FORTRAN, I discovered a possible reason.  I've
>never seen it documented anywhere, so I was wondering if my conjecture was
>right.  Any opinions?  (*IF* you are lucky enough not to have programmed
>in FORTRAN at any time, it's loops were only allowed to be done with
>INTEGER variables, and it's INTEGERS were hardcoded.  I believe 'I' was
>the first integer, tho I don't remember too well after some 6+ years...

This is correct for old FORTRANs (I believe WATFOR, FORTRAN IV, etc.) i.e.,
that DO loop counters could only be integer variables. Also, FORTAN uses
*implied typing*; you don't have to declare the types of your variables.
The convention is the variable names beginning with the letters I through N
are integer, all the rest are reals. This is quite out of date now since
there is character, logical, complex and double precision types supported.

>    It's interesting to note, also, that the standard structure that I've
>seen people go through is 'I', then 'J', then ofttimes to 'T'.  Why?
>I dunno!  <Grin>
> 
>    As for the person who screamed about 'C' programmers using 'i' in for
>loops, I've found that it makes it Real Clear(tm) that that is nothing more
>than an incremental loop counter.

>                                                        --  Morgan Schweers

It should be noted that FORTRAN started out as a language for
mathematicians and scientists. They are still the largest users of that
language. In mathematics, letters like I,J,K, etc., are often used as
subscripts (except when I is used to represent sqrt(-1)) so that is the
rationale for the language design. In many ways, it is still the best
language for scientific use.

Hadil G. Sabbagh
E-mail:		sabbagh@cs.nyu.edu
Voice:		(212) 998-3125
Snail:		Courant Institute of Math. Sci.
		251 Mercer St.
		New York,NY 10012

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
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