Simplify Porting
================
Making `g77' easier to configure, port, build, and install, either
as a single-system compiler or as a cross-compiler, would be very
useful.
* A new library (replacing `libg2c') should improve portability as
well as produce more optimal code. Further, `g77' and the new
library should conspire to simplify naming of externals, such as
by removing unnecessarily added underscores, and to
reduce/eliminate the possibility of naming conflicts, while making
debugger more straightforward.
Also, it should make multi-language applications more feasible,
such as by providing Fortran intrinsics that get Fortran unit
numbers given C `FILE *' descriptors.
* Possibly related to a new library, `g77' should produce the
equivalent of a `gcc' `main(argc, argv)' function when it compiles
a main program unit, instead of compiling something that must be
called by a library implementation of `main()'.
This would do many useful things such as provide more flexibility
in terms of setting up exception handling, not requiring
programmers to start their debugging sessions with `breakpoint
MAIN__' followed by `run', and so on.
* The GBE needs to understand the difference between alignment
requirements and desires. For example, on Intel x86 machines,
`g77' currently imposes overly strict alignment requirements, due
to the back end, but it would be useful for Fortran and C
programmers to be able to override these *recommendations* as long
as they don't violate the actual processor *requirements*.