> On that note … a thought for scipy 1.0 :
>
> Does scipy absolutely need Fortran in general?
> Or are there equivalent C or C++ packages that might be used instead?

Not really. Not with BSD-like licenses, at any rate.

> Getting rid of Fortran code would simplify life for Mac users (and maybe Windows or even Linux).
> I don't really know how much Fortran is used in scipy or libraries it depends on, or how much of a problem Fortran really is.
> I'm just asking if getting rid of Fortran is an option even worth considering for scipy 1.0.

scipy 2.0, maybe. It will be a *lot* of work to find and write replacements for everything, not to mention that the replacements will probably not work the same as the current code.

--
Robert Kern