Understanding C and FORTRAN
C is a general-purpose programming language originally developed by Dennis Ritchie between 1969 and 1973 at Bell Labs. C provides fine-grained control over system resources and hardware, making it highly efficient for system-level programming, operating systems, and embedded systems development.
FORTRAN (short for FORmula TRANslation) is a language specialized for numerical and scientific computation, developed in the 1950s by IBM. It has been highly optimized for heavy numerical tasks, making it a favorite among computational scientists and engineers.
Key Differences
Hardware Control: C
- Low-level Access: C provides direct manipulation of hardware and memory through pointers and memory management functions.
- System Programming: Ideal for writing operating system kernels, device drivers, and embedded systems due to its minimalistic syntax and low-level capabilities.
- Performance: C enables highly efficient code execution, with close-to-metal programming, allowing optimizations that are critical in performance-sensitive applications.
Numerical Computation: FORTRAN
- Optimized for Mathematics: FORTRAN is designed to handle complex numerical calculations efficiently. Built-in array operations and mathematical functions make it suitable for scientific computing.
- Performance on Mathematical Problems: Compilers for FORTRAN are particularly optimized to generate efficient code for arithmetic operations, matrix manipulations, and computational algorithms.
- Legacy and Usage: Despite being older than many current languages, FORTRAN remains a backbone in scientific computing due to its powerful numerical capabilities and backwards compatibility.
Comparative Analysis
Code Examples
C Example
1#include <stdio.h>
2
3int main() {
4 int a = 10;
5 int b = 20;
6 int sum;
7
8 sum = a + b;
9
10 printf("Sum is: %d\n", sum);
11 return 0;
12}
FORTRAN Example
1program sum_example
2 integer :: a, b, sum
3
4 a = 10
5 b = 20
6 sum = a + b
7
8 print *, 'Sum is: ', sum
9end program sum_example
Use Cases
- C: Ideal for developing system software, embedded systems, real-time applications, and performance-critical applications that require direct hardware manipulation.
- FORTRAN: Best suited for heavy computational tasks such as simulations, complex numerical analyses, and data-intensive scientific research.
Historical Context
- C: Originating in the early 1970s, C grew from the need for an efficient language that could write operating systems and compilers. Its legacy continues today through its descendants C++ and C#, and its influence on new languages like Rust and Go.
- FORTRAN: Introduced in the 1950s, FORTRAN was revolutionary in making high-level programming accessible for mathematical and scientific computation. It remains in use due to decades of optimization for numerical performance.
Applicability
When to Use C
- Developing operating systems
- Writing low-level firmware or drivers
- Real-time system applications
- Performance-critical applications needing hardware-level optimizations
When to Use FORTRAN
- Scientific computing and engineering simulations
- High-performance computing (HPC)
- Numerical weather modeling, finite element analysis, and computational physics
Related Terms
- Assembly Language: Lower-level than C, used for direct hardware manipulation.
- Python: Higher-level than both C and FORTRAN, often used for scripting and rapid development of computational applications when performance is secondary to ease of development.
- MATLAB: A high-level language and environment for numerical computing very frequently used in academia and industry, which can often replace FORTRAN in non-performance-critical applications.
FAQs
Q: Which language should I choose for a new scientific computing project?
A: If performance-critical and dealing with intensive numerical computations, consider FORTRAN. If needing integration with modern hardware or other systems, consider C or potentially a higher-level language designed for numerical computations such as Python with libraries like NumPy, or MATLAB.
Q: Is FORTRAN still relevant today?
A: Yes, FORTRAN remains highly relevant and is extensively used in fields requiring heavy numerical computations due to its long history of compiler optimizations and extensive mathematical libraries.
Q: Can I use C for numerical computations?
A: Yes, while not as optimized as FORTRAN, C can be used for numerical computations. Libraries like BLAS (Basic Linear Algebra Subprograms) exist to improve C’s numerical performance.
References
- Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan. “The C Programming Language”. Prentice Hall, 1978.
- Introduction to FORTRAN 90, Scientific Programming, 2nd Edition.
- Bjarne Stroustrup. “The C++ Programming Language”. Addison-Wesley.
Summary
In summary, C is primarily advantageous for system-level programming and applications requiring direct hardware control. In contrast, FORTRAN excels in numerical computations and scientific computing due to its design and optimized compilers. Choosing between the two depends on the specific requirements of the project, with C providing low-level control and FORTRAN offering unmatched numerical computation capabilities.
