ndeng@EULER.BERKELEY.EDU (03/02/90)
I have a question about which language is the "best" for scientific computation (read: number crunching), especially for execution speed. A majority of people use FORTRAN, not because this language is good or flexible, but due to historical reasons. Some others use C or Pascal, which offer better system interaction and graphics support. There is also a group of people who still use BASIC or ALGOL. I wonder if anybody has used two or more different languages to solve an identical problem and compared the results for speed/accuracy differences. Do the C/Pascal/BASIC version of LINPACK or Livermore Bunchmarks exist? How about the speed of these bunchmarks when compared with FORTRAN version? I think this would be a topic of general interest and would like to see discussions. I apologize if this topic has been discussed before. (In that case, would somebody be kind enough to give me some hints for whereabout of the discussion archives?) And also, please no flames, I am not trying to compare apples and oranges. If I get enough responses by e-mail, I'll post a summary. N. Deng ndeng@euler.berkeley.edu ----------------------------- Standard Disclaimer Applies.