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A comment on Is Fortran better than Python for teaching basics of numerical linear algebra?. Parent comment

Re:Is Fortran better than Python for teaching basics of nume... by kjs3 on Tuesday September 23, 2025 @09:57PM (#45355388)
Regrettably, any discussion of Fortran will be quickly filled with people who once had to write a couple of F77 programs in college and never got over it, never used a really nice Fortran compiler, and of the very few who actually knew the language has evolved in the last 50 years the vast majority of that minority couldn't name a single significant thing that changed in F90/F95 through Fortran 2018.

But they all have Opinions, which they are compelled to share.

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Re:Is Fortran better than Python for teaching basics of nume... by adastra22 on Wednesday September 24, 2025 @02:08AM (#45356834)
C++ has evolved immensely in that same time. I still would NEVER use C++ for anything new, now that Rust exists.

Why should I use Fortran, for anything that isn't maintaining legacy code?

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Re:Is Fortran better than Python for teaching basics of nume... by atemerev on Wednesday September 24, 2025 @04:29AM (#45357730)
I like modern C++ much better than Rust. I am 3 times more productive in it and don't have to fight the compiler for hours. And RAII is a simple idiom that prevents 95% of actual problems.
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Re:Is Fortran better than Python for teaching basics of nume... by adastra22 on Wednesday September 24, 2025 @04:49AM (#45357834)
Your C++ is full of bugs that rustc was telling you about.
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Re:Is Fortran better than Python for teaching basics of nume... by pjmlp on Wednesday September 24, 2025 @06:02AM (#45358257)
Including on LLVM backend used by Rust, I guess.

When is that fully bootstraped rustc coming?

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Re:Is Fortran better than Python for teaching basics of nume... by atemerev on Wednesday September 24, 2025 @05:08AM (#45357940)
Well yes, the code I didn't wrote (because I was 3x slower) surely has no bugs.
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Re:Is Fortran better than Python for teaching basics of nume... by noobermin on Wednesday September 24, 2025 @05:15AM (#45357971)
Fortran is nowadays a DSL for computational codes. If you don't know why you would or could use it, you're not the target audience for it.

Calling it a DSL is a bit rich given the history of computing but at least that way at least CS and developer types will know how to regard it.

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Re:Is Fortran better than Python for teaching basics of nume... by pjmlp on Wednesday September 24, 2025 @06:00AM (#45358251)
Rust might exist, but it isn't shipping in console devkits, or industry reference game engines, just to quote two examples where it has yet to achieve parity with C++.
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Re:Is Fortran better than Python for teaching basics of nume... by kjs3 on Wednesday September 24, 2025 @10:16AM (#45360750)
Oh, there's the one I forgot: The "I don't know how to use that technology, therefore there is no use for it and no one should use it" guy. Least surprising thing ever it's from the rust crowd.
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Re:Is Fortran better than Python for teaching basics of nume... by adastra22 on Wednesday September 24, 2025 @10:44AM (#45361163)
I’ve maintained Fortran codes before in my career.
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