Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ns-mx!ceres!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!ames!uhccux!tholen
From: tholen@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu (David Tholen)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: PC FORTRAN compiler?
Summary: more recent information
Message-ID: <6131@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu>
Date: 12 Jan 90 06:39:25 GMT
References: <6595@ogicse.ogc.edu> <21117@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu>
Distribution: na
Organization: University of Hawaii
Lines: 47

In article <21117@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu>, ARRITT@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu) writes:

> In article <6595@ogicse.ogc.edu>, kburns@ogicse.ogc.edu (Ken Burns) writes:

> >   We are looking for a FORTRAN compiler to run on an IBM compatible.
> >   We just need to port some programs from our uVAX to the PC world
> >   and don't want to spend the big bucks for a Microsoft FORTRAN
> >   compiler.  Any pointers would be appreciated.  Thanks.
> 
> 
> The Microsoft compiler is only a very limited subset of Fortran-77.  
> I tried it and got hundreds of error messages.  Although I don't pretend 
> to be a great (or even good) programmer, the code has run on 11 different 
> systems made by 6 manufacturers, ranging from low-end Microvaxes to a 
> Cray X/MP-48.  So it's Microsoft's problem and not any quirk of the code.  
> 
> Moral:
> don't expect a quick and easy port using the Microsoft Fortran compiler.
> In fairness our Microsoft compiler is a couple of years old.  Maybe the more
> recent ones are better.
>

Sounds like it's more than a couple years old.  The last Microsoft FORTRAN
compiler that had support for only the FORTRAN 77 subset was version 3.31.

The most recent Microsoft FORTRAN compiler is version 5.0 (with rumors of a
beta-test version of what I presume to be a maintenance release floating
around out there).  This version has full ANSI FORTRAN 77 support, plus
several 8x extensions (array syntax, DO WHILE, for example), and it supports
virtually all VAX FORTRAN syntax, including structures (but not QUAD PRECISION,
for example). 

I do ports from Microsoft FORTRAN to Sun FORTRAN and BSD 4.3 UNIX FORTRAN
and Cray CFT77 FORTRAN and back all the time.  None of them is perfectly bug 
free, but I actually prefer the Microsoft compiler over the Sun and BSD
compilers.  CodeView beats abd and dbx for debugging (in my opinion).  The
ports are quick and easy, once you've taken the time to understand the memory
models imposed by the Intel segmented memory architecture.

I've seen mail order prices as low as about $260.  Is that big bucks?  I'd
sell you my version 4.1 compiler for less; it's sitting around doing nothing
since I upgraded to version 5, and it supports the full ANSI standard.  No
8x extensions, though, and not many VAX extensions either.  Those are the
principal improvements between versions 4.1 and 5.0.  Both even run under OS/2
as well, for what it's worth.

tholen@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu