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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!think!ima!johnl
From: johnl@ima.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.lang
Subject: Re: WAT, exactly, is WATFIV?
Message-ID: <103600005@ima.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 20-Sep-85 11:04:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: ima.103600005
Posted: Fri Sep 20 11:04:00 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 22-Sep-85 06:18:51 EDT
References: <30830@lanl.UUCP>
Lines: 17
Nf-ID: #R:lanl:-3083000:ima:103600005:000:947
Nf-From: ima!johnl    Sep 20 11:04:00 1985


/* Written  1:13 am  Sep 19, 1985 by jp@lanl in ima:net.lang */
> My daughter is enrolled in a computer class that is teaching WATFIV.
> Is WATFIV a FORTRAN preprocessor or a directly compiled language?
> Is WATFIV a commercial product or public domain?
> Can I get WATFIV in a form suitable for running under CP/M-80?

WATFIV is a venerable version of Fortran IV from the University of Waterloo, 
Ontario, which was famed for its quick compilation and its good compile- and 
run-time diagnostics.  The only implementation I ever heard of was for IBM 
360 and 370 mainframes.  When I used it 15 years ago, it implemented 
straightforward Fortram IV with some extensions for character handling and 
free format I/O which eventually made it (more or less) into Fortran 77.  I 
expect Waterloo has been working on it since then; they now sell their 
software through WATCOM which advertises in the usual computer magazines.  

John Levine, ima!johnl