Issue: FORMAT-E-EXPONENT-SIGN (Version 2)

[gls@Think.COM]

   Date: Sun, 2 Oct 88 16:24 EDT
   From: Kent M Pitman <KMP@stony-brook.scrc.symbolics.com>

   I don't care about PRIN1 and ~E being compatible, particularly, but it's
   my vague recollection that some of the way ~E, ~G, and ~F are set up is
   to be compatible with some Fortran programs to make translation easy. I
   don't recall the details, but I even recall we talked half-seriously about
   putting in Cobol picture-mode as well. I think that if this was a goal,
   that we should make sure we don't accidentally violate that goal.

   As long as the proposed change is not going to cause problems for people
   doing translation of Fortran programs, I'm happy with the change.

   I don't remember the details of this issue nor do I have a fortran
   specification handy but maybe GLS or someone else reading this message
   remembers the issue. Based on what other people remember about the
   issue, it may be useful to mention that it was considered in the
   Discussion.

It doesn't much matter to Fortran what ~E does when w and d are missing
because Fortran does not allow them to be omitted.  I agree that this
point should be tied down, but have no string opinion over which way
it should go.
--Guy