> Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2000 10:01:16 +0200
> From: Jörg Stiller <[log in to unmask]>
> Hello,
> Isn't it obvious that
>
> (1) ** was selected in early Fortran because the character set
> of the early input devices was constrained.
No, it was because printing devices were constrained.
Being tabulating machines, they were restricted to the digits,
alphabetic characters, and a few special characters such as . , / *
or % ( ) and the like.
Input was punch cards, and any code could be punched.
> The same is true
> for today keybords. (I miss \alpha, \Sigma, \int ... )
>
> (2) to most people it is clear that the introduction of ^ for
> exponentiation would improve the readability of Fortran,
IMHO it wouldn't. I like ** for raising to a power because it stands
out.
> whithout adding new functionality, nor new problems
If you prefer "^", there's nothing to stop you from using "^"
and running a preprocessor to change it to **.
> Cheers, J\"org
>
> PS: Do you see the "ö"?
> Dr.-Ing. Joerg Stiller, Dozent fuer Geo- und Magnetofluiddynamik
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