MATLAB2Python

[Peter Hansen]

beliavsky at aol.com wrote:

> The Fortran standards committee takes
> backwards compatibility much more seriously, so that code you write
> now will not take on a new meaning in future versions of the language.

This is an unfair characterization.  They most certainly take
backwards compatibility *seriously*, but perhaps they put a
higher value on making changes that, in their opinion, make
significant improvements to the language, or fix serious
mistakes they made in the original.  Maybe that's a reason
that Python is being adopted more, while FORTRAN growth is, uh,
somewhat flat.

I really doubt they sit around in their plush leather chairs,
stroking their long-haired Persian cats, and saying "But won't
that break old code?  Yes, but screw the scientific programmers,
BWAHAHAHAHA...."

But I could be wrong.

-Peter