Comparison of C++ and Fortran 90 for object-oriented scientific programming

✍ Scribed by John R. Cary; Svetlana G. Shasharina; Julian C. Cummings; John V.W. Reynders; Paul J. Hinker

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 979 KB
• Volume: 105
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0010-4655
• DOI: 10.1016/s0010-4655(97)00043-x

✦ Synopsis

C++ and Fortran 90 are compared as object-oriented languages for use in scientific computing. C++ is a full-featured, object-oriented language that provides support for inheritance and polymorphism. Fortran 90 can mimic some object-oriented features through combinations of its TYPE and MODULE syntax elements, but it lacks inheritance and thus does not permit code reuse to the same extent as C÷+. Each language has other useful features unrelated to object-oriented programming, but the additional features of Fortran 90 can be included in C++ through the development of class libraries. In contrast, including the additional features of C++ in Fortran 90 would require further development of the Fortran 90 syntax. A critical feature missing in Fortran 90 is the template, which allows C++ programmers to build portable, reusable code and to dramatically improve the efficiency of the evaluation of complex expressions involving user-defined data types. ~ 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.