Is Fortran 90 easier to learn than C++?

Question

I have to take a Fortran(90) class next spring and I know a tiny bit of C++, will Fortran be easier or harder to learn than C++? Thanks.

Answer 1

i think so yeah

Answer 2

The most common Fortran versions are not object oriented, you don't create classes, you just have functions working on primitive variables.

Fortran may have gone object oriented recently, but I doubt it.

The syntax is simple.

Of course, if you already have some C++, a C based course would be easy.

I would rather work in C/C++, I find it more "readable." And C is usually fast enough for technical work.

The question you should ask is what types of programs are you going to be required to write? If it is just an introductory course, like "This how to use a for loop, this is how an if statement works," then Fortran is not going to bother you too much.

But if they want to teach you how to solve systems of linear equations or do serious numerical methods, then maybe you want to work in a language that's closer to what you know.

Email the professor and get a syllabus.

And check out the book "Numerical Recipes in Fortran" or the C++ version, "Numerical Recipes in C++" and learn what you can -really- do with a computer.

Answer 3

It's quite a bit different than C++, but it's not terribly difficult to learn. The hardest part(s) of Fortran are the I/O Format statements.

Doug