jlg@lanl-a.UUCP (07/05/84)
>> This isn't Fortran's fault, it's the I/O library! There is no good reason >> for Fortran I/O to be any slower than direct system calls (except for a >> small amount of overhead related to library table maintenance). >I'm not sure about this. Surely interpreting formats at runtime slows I/O a >lot. It could be possible to compile the formats, but Fortran also allows >you to read the format at run-time, so you still need your format >interpreter around. Does any Fortran compiler compile formats? The original submitter of this problem was getting around the slow Fortran I/O on his system by doing his own system calls. Clearly formats are not involved! I still stand by the original statement -- there is no good reason for Fortran I/O (unformatted) to be any slower than direct system calls. If you want to compare timings for formatted I/O, your replacement should also be capable of formatting with the same flexibility or the comparison is meaningless. The point is that the Fortran I/O library should provide support for the language features using the most efficient method available on the target machine. If this has not been done, it is the fault of the library vendor! DON'T BLAME THE LANGUAGE FOR A BAD IMPLEMENTATION!! J.L.Giles ..!ihnp4!cmcl2!lanl-a!jlg