Xref: utzoo comp.lang.fortran:1032 comp.sys.ibm.pc:18684
Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cwjcc!hal!ncoast!btb
From: btb@ncoast.UUCP (Brad Banko)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.fortran,comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: F77 Compilers for MS-DOS PC's
Keywords: ms-dos fortran f77
Message-ID: <12329@ncoast.UUCP>
Date: 3 Sep 88 14:35:38 GMT
References: <184@limbic.UUCP> <102@simsdevl.UUCP> <13633@agate.BERKELEY.EDU>
Reply-To: btb@ncoast.UUCP (Brad Banko)
Distribution: na
Organization: Cleveland Public Access UN*X, Cleveland, Oh
Lines: 30

Richard Link has numerous complaints about MS Fortran on PC's.
He has had experience with MS Fortran through version 3.31 or so.
I want to say a few words on behalf of MS Fortran...
I spent about 6 months last year working daily with MS Fortran on an
AT.  I started out with the version 3.31 compiler which was painful
to use... no make, not full f77 compatible plus other "implementation
level" frustrations.  The version 4.00 compiler came out much improved
from a programming viewpoint (although still no screen editor was
supplied... I use EMACS or Windows Notepad)... version 4.00 had a make,
supported hiding the compiler files away in \bin (or other named
directories), etc.  Much improved over 3.3x!  But, 4.00 had some serious
bugs in its optimizer (at least it had an optimizer) and string handling.
Several months later 4.01 came out and fixed most of these bugs...
(in fact, I used 4.01 for the next 3 months or so and had no more problems.)
include files are supported.  4.x is full f77 with some useful 
extensions like time & date functions.
I would recommend re-visiting Microsoft Fortran 4.01+ if you have only 
used 3.3x before.  Benchmark it first with your toughest (proven)
numerical algorithm (try the spherical bessel fxn routine outlined by
Welch in Computers in Physics Sept/Oct 1988, See also Gillman & Fiebig,
Comput. Phys. 2, 62 (1988)).

-- 
			Brad Banko
			Columbus, Ohio
			(formerly ...!decvax!cwruecmp!ncoast!btb)
			btb%ncoast@mandrill.cwru.edu

"The only thing we have to fear on this planet is man."
			-- Carl Jung, 1875-1961