Fortran

[Ethan Furman]

On 05/11/2014 10:51 AM, Roy Smith wrote:
> In article <871tw0s2kl.fsf at elektro.pacujo.net>,
>   Marko Rauhamaa <marko at pacujo.net> wrote:
>
>> Tomasz Rola <rtomek at ceti.pl>:
>>
>>> Given that Fortran is here for almost 60 years and lot of effort has
>>> been spent to keep it backwards compatible (AFAIK), I wouldn't hold my
>>> breath.
>>
>> I have seen a glimpse of the so-called scientific computing and Fortran
>> programming. I can't help but think that Fortran is successful with
>> people who don't know how to program and don't care.
>>
>> That's fine. If I were to build a cyclotron, I bet the Fortran coders
>> would smile at my clumsy efforts.
>
> It is fine.  Computers are tools.  The sign of a good tool is that you
> can pick it up and use it without having to read the instruction manual.
> I can jump into pretty much any car, start the engine, and drive it,
> without any learning curve.  There's a lot of complicated organic
> chemistry and thermodynamics going on inside the engine's combustion
> chambers, but I don't need to know any of that to make use of the tool.

That is an excellent example.  For the most part cars are very similar, yet in some circumstances (such as a vehicle in 
front of you suddenly stopping) the exact details (such as the precise location and size and shape of the brake pedal) 
become excruciatingly important (having your foot stomp the floor just to the right of the current break pedal, because 
that's where the brake was in your last vehicle, is not going to help here).

How the lights and/or windshield wipers turn on/off is also an important detail.

--
~Ethan~