BRITISH COMPUTER SOCIETY FORTRAN SPECIALIST GROUP

MINUTES of a MEETING on Tuesday,

8th September, 1970, at B.C.S.

Headquarters, 29 Portland Place,

London, W.1. at 10.45 a.m.

PRESENT:        Mr J.S. Gatehouse (Chairman)    GEC-EE Ltd

                Mr T.D. Palmer                  National Coal Board

                Mr C. McCallien                 U.K.A.E.A., Risley

                Mr K. Bicknell                  Rothamsted Experimental Station

                Mr P.D. Bond                    Philips Industries, Croydon

                Mr J.P. Holland                 Tunnel Cement Ltd.

                Mr J.R. Keane                   I.C.L., Bracknell

                Mr K.F. James                     "         "

                Mr M. Arif                      St. Thomas's Hospital Med. School

                Mr J. R. Main                   N.C.R.

                Mr I. E. Davidson                 "

                Mr D.K. White                     "

                Mr L.I. Brown                   Kienzle Data Systems

                Mr A.J. Hinchley                Radics Ltd

                Mr J.G. Davies                  Ferranti Ltd., Edinburgh

                Mr J.C. Cullen                  B.P.

                Mr R.E. Small                   CAP Ltd.

                Mr B.H. Shearing                Alcock, Shearing & Partners

                Dr A.C. Day                     University College, London

                Mr H. W. Bradly (Assistant      GEC Power Engineering Ltd.

                                 Secretary)

                Mrs M. M. Barritt (Secretary)   Edinburgh Regional Computing

                                                Centre (present for part of

                                                meeting)

APOLOGIES:

FOR ABSENCE     Dr I.C. Pyle                    A.E.R.E., Harwell

                Mr I.A.G. Snowball                  "        "

                Mr M.J. Garside                 University of Kent at Canterbury

                Mr D.T.Muxworthy                Edinburgh Regional Computing

                                                Centre

APPROVAL OF  The minutes of the meeting held on 7th April, 1970, were approved.

MINUTES

MATTERS     Standards The Chairman announced that it was likely that the

ARISING     B.S.I. would take the I.S.O. standard when approved as the British

Standard. The I.S.O. draft has been approved for voting. Mr Flower,

the Standards Co-ordinator of I.B.M., wishes to receive all documents.

REPORT of   (a) Small Machines

WORKING      Mr Garside was unable to be present himself but copies of his

PARTIES     report were available and were distributed. Discussion followed.

The Chairman asked that the thanks of the Group to Mr Garside be

recorded and that he would write to him to pass on the comments

of those present.

 Mr L.I. Brown of Kienzle Data Systems and Mr A.J. Hinchley of Radics

offered to help Mr Garside in defining a "primitive FORTRAN" for small

machines as suggested at the Edinburgh meeting.

            (b) Conversational FORTRAN

 Mr Bradly gave a verbal report giving details of those systems about

which he had collected data and promised a written report by the

end of the year.

 Mr Bradly also mentioned the difficulties he had experienced

due to the actions of an unofficial group also collecting data

and using the name of the B.C.S. FORTRAN Specialist Group.

The Chairman agreed to contact the group concerned.

            (c) Extensions to FORTRAN_beyond X3.9

 Mr Shearing also gave a verbal report. He said he had had a good

response from users to form his working party and they had divided

the extensions from contributors into a number of categories.

The first category, the present "de facto" extensions, would be

reported on by the end of the year and would also be sent to the

A.N.S.I. Committee.

WORKSHOP IN  It had been suggested that a two-day workshop be held in Edinburgh

EDINBURGH   in May, 1971, to be run jointly by the Edinburgh Branch of the B.C.S.

and the Regional Computing Centre. It was hoped that any recommen-

dations made at the workshop could be sent to the B.S.I. by September.

 This suggestion was approved and the Chairman agreed to inform

the Conference Department, but the dates would be left to the

Branch.

[Editor's note: This was proposed as a follow-up to the highly successful two-day
conference on Fortran organized by the Edinburgh Regional Computing Centre in
May 1969 which was attended by over 160 participants from all over the UK plus
a handful from the Continent.]

NEXT MEETING The next meeting was fixed for Tuesday, 12th January, 1971, at

10.45 a.m. at B.C.S. Headquarters.

ANY OTHER   Algorithms Mr Shearing raised the question of Algorithms

BUSINESS    appearing in the B.C.S. Bulletin which were not in A.N.S.I.

            FORTRAN.

 The meeting agreed that the Chairman should write to the Editor

offering the services of the Group to referee FORTRAN Algorithms.

 Mr Shearing announced that a new edition of the FORTRAN Dialects

Report was now available at a cost of 25/- to members and £2 2s.

to outside bodies.

 Comments were also made about the N.C.C. Report on FORTRAN

standards and the Chairman was asked to write to the Director

to ask about possible liaison on matters of mutual interest.