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From: psmith@convex.com (Presley Smith)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.fortran
Subject: Re: Fortran 90
Message-ID: <1991Apr26.140258.19834@convex.com>
Date: 26 Apr 91 14:02:58 GMT
References: <1991Apr26.113820.1826@cs.dal.ca>
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In article <1991Apr26.113820.1826@cs.dal.ca> vanadis@cs.dal.ca (Jose Castejon-Amenedo) writes:
>
>	I want to thank 
>
>		Jeff Carroll (carroll@ssc-vax.boeing.com),
>		Melvin Klassen (klassen@sol.UVic.CA), 
>		Peter L. Montgomery (pmontgom@math.ucla.edu), 
>		Van Snyder (vsnyder@jato.Jpl.Nasa.Gov),
>
>for their replies to my query about documents on Fortran 90.
>
>	As it happens, there exist public domain documents, but they
>are not free. Two texts are ``Programmer's Guide to Fortran 90'', by
>W.S. Brainerd, C.H. Goldberg, & J.C. Adams; and ``Fortran 90: The
>Complete ANSI Reference'', by J.C. Adams (both in McGraw-Hill).
>

You must remember that only X3J3 or WG5 can issue interpretations 
on Fortran 90.  The title "Fortran 90: The Complete ANSI Reference"
is a bit misleading.   The author of that book can only provide
her interpretation and guidance on the standard.  If X3J3 or WG5
decides that something in the standard will be interpreted differently
from what it's interpreted in the Adams book, then that will be the 
official interpretation.   The Adams book does not speak for the 
committees or for ANSI.

I'd suggest that anyone wanting to know what the standard says should
buy a copy of the standard and read it.  If you want help in understanding
what it says, then these books and the "Fortran 90 Explained" by Metcalf
and Reid can help explain it to you.

This standard is large and complex.  The committee made 93 changes to 
it in the last meeting a couple of weeks ago.  None of those changes
and many of the changes made in the last 6 months are probably not
comprehended in any of these books.  

FYI