Future Versions

The homogeneity and ease of use of SLALIB could perhaps be improved in the future by turning to C++ and object-oriented techniques. For example ``celestial position'' could be a class and many of the transformations could happen automatically. This requires further study and would almost certainly result in a complete redesign. Similarly, the impact of Fortran 90 has yet to be assessed. Once compilers become widely available, some internal recoding may be worthwhile in order to simplify parts of the code. However, as with C++, a redesign of the application interfaces will be needed if the capabilities of the new language are to be exploited to the full.