On evolution of FORTRAN

Abstract

The GTE Government Systems Corporation, Western Division is engaged in real time and other application software development. Clearly we need the best available tools with which to do the job consistent with our customer contraints. For a variety of reasons, I believe that FORTRAN will remain an important programming tool. The most important of these reasons may be that it has adapted slowly to the changing needs of the software development community.The purpose of this paper is to describe four things which should be done to FORTRAN in the near term. First, we should not add additional control statements. Second, we should add a data structure feature. Third, a referential facility should be added to the language. Fourth, we should add a few simple things that can hide information in one part of a program from another part.