Re: question about efficiency of fortran in parallel environments
Randall Mackie wrote:
Over the last many years, I've developed modeling codes that solve
Maxwell's equations at low frequencies for 3D earth models. We use
these for geophysical exploration and resource evaluation.
In the past year, I've been modifying my code to run on a cluster,
using a combination of PETSc and MPI. PETSc is very nice because
it's object oriented, and it shields the user from all the details
about data communication structures, etc. It works very nicely.
I am pretty sure MPI had both C and Fortran APIs. Most likely
you could figure out how to call the C routines from Fortran if
needed.
One of the programmers in my company, who programs mainly in c,
has said that my program could be made more efficient if it
were converted from Fortran to C. I'm not sure I'm convinced
of this at all, but I was hoping for some feedback from people
who program in both Fortran and C, especially in parallel environments.
It could be that the compilers have different amounts of support for it.
It might also be that a mixed C/Fortran system would make sense.
There are reasons for converting programs to a different language,
such as a language that the people working on it know better.
It doesn't sound like a convincing reason for this case.
-- glen
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