Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site uwstat.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!whuxlm!harpo!decvax!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!uwvax!uwstat!minitab
From: minitab@uwstat.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.wanted,net.lang.f77
Subject: Re: want flint (PFORT verifier exists)
Message-ID: <231@uwstat.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 16-Feb-85 11:00:48 EST
Article-I.D.: uwstat.231
Posted: Sat Feb 16 11:00:48 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 18-Feb-85 06:30:17 EST
References: <151@gangue.uucp> <6957@watdaisy.UUCP>
Distribution: net
Organization: Joiner Associates Inc.
Lines: 33
Xref: watmath net.wanted:5816 net.lang.f77:241

> > While I am quite aware that "portable fortran" is an oxymoron of
> > sorts, has anyone done work in this area.  Something like an
> > f77 version of "lint" would be a great help, even if it spoke
> > just one dialect. 
> 
> For f66, there was a program called "pfort", and articles were published
> about the pfort verifier.  I believe it pre-dated lint.  It helped make
> "portable fortan" a fact rather than an oxymoron.  It spoke the ANSI
> "dialect", and also did extensive checking such as for subprogram calls.
> 
> I regret not knowing if there is a pfort f77 verifier.  It would make
> someone eat his words.

The PFORT Verifier is table-driven, and is, itself, written in PFORT.  When
I got it (late 1970s) it cost $35 from Bell Labs, was unsupported (of course!)
and could be reproduced (but not for profit) providing the unmodified code
was provided and the original form of the copyright notice was attached.

I was able to easily modify PFORT to accept statements allowed by a preprocessor
we had (like ASSERT (logical expression)), and many F77 constructs were
already supported (block IF, CHARACTER).  I never saw a better checker of
interprogram communication before or since (though I here the Perkin-Elmer
"global optimizing" compiler is better).  I think every Fortran shop should
have PFORT and the related FORTLEX Fortran lexical analyzer.  Many useful
tools can be built from these two.

       Stephen L. Arnold, Joiner Associates Inc.
Mail   P.O. Box 5445, Madison WI  53705-0445
Phone  608 238-8134
Telex  650 110-6813
BITNET arnold@wiscpslb
ARPA   arnold%wiscpslb.BITNET@wiscvm.ARPA
UUCP   {allegra|cornell|purdue|ihnp4|burdvax}!psuvax1!arnold%wiscpslb.BITNET