[Info-vax] Roadmap

[Arne Vajhøj]

On 1/6/2019 11:16 AM, gezelter at rlgsc.com wrote:
> In the case of floating point, perhaps all (repeat ALL) OpenVMS
> compilers should support a non-standard keyword "IEEE754" as an
> adjunct to REAL and DOUBLE. A "C"-ish example would be:
> 
> IEEE754 float X; IEEE754 double Y;
> 
> in FORTRAN:
> 
> IEEE754 REAL*4 X; IEEE754 REAL*8 Y;
> 
> This would allow the clarity in documenting mixed representation
> programs, e.g., programs which read/write one format while working
> internally in another. Often, such situations are, as I have noted
> elsewhere, not a voluntary choice. Historical data exists, libraries
> expect certain formats, etc.
> 
> Doing this consistently across multiple compilers is, I admit, a
> chore. However, it is also a problem best addressed in a consistent
> manner, than ad hoc for each different compiler.
> 
> My apologies to John for adding to his work queue.

It would also make the code non-portable.

Probably not a problem for Basic, Pascal etc..

But for C, Fortran etc. then I see it as a problem.

Arne