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From: eugene@pioneer.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.lang.fortran,comp.lang.pascal
Subject: Re: Array storage order
Message-ID: <2303@ames.arpa>
Date: Tue, 7-Jul-87 12:27:59 EDT
Article-I.D.: ames.2303
Posted: Tue Jul  7 12:27:59 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 9-Jul-87 05:47:15 EDT
References: <1215@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu> <105@anumb.UUCP> <3538@watvlsi.UUCP> <107@anumb.UUCP> <1782@pbhye.UUCP>
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Reply-To: eugene@pioneer.UUCP (Eugene Miya N.)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
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Xref: utgpu comp.lang.fortran:127 comp.lang.pascal:166

In article <1782@pbhye.UUCP> bs@pbhye.UUCP (Bruce Skelly) writes:
>
>I can never thank enough the FORTRAN teacher I had who taught me that
>FORTRAN array storage works just like a cars odometer, i.e. the right
>most digit/subscript increments the fastest.
>
>He was also very adamant that the compiler didn't give squat about 
>rows and columns.  Besides, what do you start calling things after
>2, 3, or 4 dimensions.

Wrong!  In FORTRAN, it's the left most subscript, but it's a nice attempt
at the analogy.  In Pascal, it's the rightmost (as well as C and Ada)
and it is defined in the Standard are right-fastest varying and
row-major language.  I am working on some interesting tests on subscript
calculation (FORTRAN).  (A Cray X-MP is the base machine for measurement
reasons.) Any other interesting material would be appreciated.

Geez, aren't there any other members of the FORTRAN or Pascal Standards
committees who read this group anymore?  Arrgh!  What happen to Klein,
Gustafson, and Price [I know what happened to Haynes].

--eugene miya
  formerly Joint ANSI X3J9/IEEE P770 Pascal Language Standards Committee
  eugene@ames-aurora.ARPA
  "You trust the `reply' command with all those different mailers out there?"
  {hplabs,hao,ihnp4,decwrl,allegra,tektronix,menlo70}!ames!aurora!eugene