# Re: Write Fortran in Ruby

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/re-write-fortran-in-ruby/75760>\
**Category:** Ruby\
**Created:** [March 2, 2006, 5:39pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/re-write-fortran-in-ruby/75760 "2006-03-02T17:39:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Christopher\_Dunn](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Christopher\_Dunn](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/Christopher_Dunn)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 5:39pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/re-write-fortran-in-ruby/75760/1 "2006-03-02T17:39:52Z")

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Try to write the following Fortran 77 program (note the  
6 space indentation) in Ruby so that it looks as close  
to the Fortran as possible without extending Ruby:

```
  program ii
  integer i
  do i=0,10
     print*,i
     if (i.gt.5) goto 1
  enddo

```

1 print\*,i\*i  
end

Here’s the Python candidate to date:

for i in range(10):  
#begin  
print i  
if i\>5: break  
#end  
print i\*i

* * *

Better Python candidate…

```
 from operator import gt
 class goto1: pass
 try:
  for i in range(0,10):
   print i
   if gt(i,5): raise goto1
  #endfor
 except goto1: pass
 finally:
  print i*i
 #end

```

But why is anyone trying to convince a fortran programmer to use a slow,  
dynamic language? This reminds me: Too many of the language debates  
concentrate on static vs. dynamic typing. The real issue is type  
declarations. They waste time during proto-typing. But there is another  
way  
to eliminate those pesky declarations: type-inferencing.

People are spending a lot of time trying to “optimize” Ruby, Python, and  
Perl. They’re all hitting the same problem: dynamic typing. It’s  
insurmountable. I was really hoping that Ruby could be THE language, but  
last night, browsing the Great Language Shootout page, I noticed a  
problem:  
Ruby is SLOW! Even compared to Python.

Boo and Ocaml are examples of fast, agile languages, and if more  
companies  
would adopt them, I’d switch in a heartbeat.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Christopher\_Dunn](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Christopher\_Dunn](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/Christopher_Dunn)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 6:06pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/re-write-fortran-in-ruby/75760/2 "2006-03-02T18:06:48Z")

</div>

On Fri, 3 Mar 2006, Christopher Dunn wrote:

> 1 print\*,i\*i
> 
> ```
> except goto1: pass
> 
> ```
> 
> People are spending a lot of time trying to “optimize” Ruby, Python, and  
> Perl. They’re all hitting the same problem: dynamic typing. It’s  
> insurmountable. I was really hoping that Ruby could be THE language, but  
> last night, browsing the Great Language Shootout page, I noticed a problem:  
> Ruby is SLOW! Even compared to Python.

i’ve never had a problem with this and am routinely process files  
ranging from  
40mb to 3gb - one only has to use c extensions.

why do you see dynamic typing as a contributor to slowdown?

> Boo and Ocaml are examples of fast, agile languages, and if more companies  
> would adopt them, I’d switch in a heartbeat.

ocaml is very good - but it’s a massive paradigm shift for most people’s  
thought train… most real world problems are imperitive.

-a