🚀 go-pugleaf

This posting summarises the responses I have had to my question regarding Mac
FORTRAN implementations. Thanks very much everyone for your efforts-I am now
far better informed!

Cheers

Mark Wilson-Thomas


From: NAME: K_MAS@VAXA.NERC-KEYWORTH.AC.UK 

In response to your recent Usenet news post in comp.sys.mac.apps about Fortran 
compilers for the Mac I am aware of two.  Language Systems Fortran and Absoft 
Corporation's MacFortran II (the latter only for II series and SE/30 type 
machines).  These are both available from the Apple Programmers' and 
Developers' Association in the U.S.A.  You can contact them from the UK by 
phone on 010 1 716 871 6555 or Fax on 6511.  They can also be reached on the 
Internet address APDA@applelink.apple.com although I haven't tried this myself.
The first thing you want to do is get a catalogue from them as this contains 
some kind of International Letter of Assurance you have to sign for some kind 
of U.S. trade export regulations!  I would have thought it quite likely 
someone in BP may have already used these people.  You will need to get 
something called the Macintosh Programmers' Workshop along with the compiler; 
this gives you a command line interface to control compilation and a lot of 
other Mac system operations.  The costs in my catalogue are US$595 for either 
compiler including the MPW.

I use Language Systems Fortran and one of my collegues uses MacFortran II.  We 
have not made any detailed comparisions but I think MacFortran II may be a bit 
faster but Language Systems better for various compatibility options and ease 
of use.  There is full access certainly from Language Systems to the Mac 
Toolbox and it is also possible to obtain a separate source code debugger and 
lint checker; but I haven't got these yet.  I haven't tried writing any Mac 
style programs with these yet, just porting existing mainframe (VAX) programs 
which is painless.

Marcus Sen
British Geological Survey
Keyworth, Notts.
NG12 5GG
k_mas@va.nkw.ac.uk (Internet)
k_mas@uk.ac.nkw.va (JANET)

From: 	math.clemson.edu@math.clemson.edu

Mark,

There are two major contenders in the Mac Fortran world, Absoft and
Language Systems Fortran.  I have used LS Fortran for several
years, and I think that the program is excellent and that the
support is great.  Here are a few points that I think are
significant.
1.  It runs under MPW (which Language Systems will sell to you for
    less than Apple).  This means that you can link together
    Fortran, C, Assembler, and Pascal.  If you're an old bit
    twiddler, it's really easy to tighten up a critical piece of
    Fortran code by dropping into assembler.
2.  Mainframe style Fortran programs run "as is".  PRINT statements
    send their output to a printer, and WRITE statements send their
    output to a default window.  When the program finishes running,
    you are left in the default window with an operational text
    editor.  This means you can cut, copy and paste your results
    into your word processor or whatever.  It is the nicest "plain
    vanilla" setup I've seen.
3.  Language Systems makes a very strong effort to understand the
    VAX dialect of Fortran 77.
4.  Language Systems supports several other progamming products
    including:  a Source level debugger, Fortran tools for 
    AppMaker, the IMSL library, etc.
5.  Language Systems support is really professional.  A few years
    ago when I found a bug in their system, (I was working with
    a program that was doing something a little unusual), I placed
    a phone call, got a quick answer, recieved a work-around within
    the hour and a new version of the software within a few weeks.
    They keep improving their products, and then do a good job of
    explaining the improvements to their registered user base.
    This is further enhanced by reasonable upgrade prices.

You can contact them at:
    Language Systems Corporation
    441 Carlisle Drive
    Herndon, VA  22070
    Phone:  (703) 478-0181
    FAX:    (703) 689=9593

    --  Dan Warner

Professor Daniel D. Warner
Department of Mathematical Sciences
Clemson University
Clemson, SC  29634-1907
(803) 656-5244
  
   
  No problem.  Absoft Fortran and Language Systems Fortran are available
  for MPW from APDA.  Call Jennie Rose at Apple UK on 081 569 1199 and
  ask for the APDA catalogue.  You'll probably have to order from the States,
  but the APDA folks appear to provide excellent service.
  
  Russ

From: 	sshws@convx1.lerc.nasa.gov

Language Systems makes a very good compiler for the Mac. Call
703 478 0181. We are in the process of porting a PC Fortran program
to the Mac and we are finding that Language Systems' compiler is
finding many bugs that the PC compiler (  Lahey, I think ) missed. I 
have never, ever heard of a FTPable copy of a Mac Fortran compiler,
by the way.

-- 
Herb Schilling , NASA Lewis Research Center , 21000 Brookpark Road, MS 142-5
Cleveland, Ohio 44135 . (216) 433-8955       sshws@convx1.lerc.nasa.gov

From: 	booker@sgt-york.lanl.gov
  I am aware of two Fortran implementations on the Mac.  One is from Absoft
  and is called "MacFortran II" and the other is Language Systems Fortran. 
  Both run under Apple's MPW environment and both will work with Apple's
  symbolic debugger, SADE.  I have used both, and I prefer the Language
  Systems Fortran.  Both are available from APDA bundled with MPW for $595. 
  SADE is sold separately for $150 also from APDA.
  
  Absoft used to make another Fortran, MacFortran/020 that came with its own
  debugger etc.  The environment was primative and did not use MPW.  I don't
  believe that it is still available.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Clay Booker (cxb@lanl.gov)
Los Alamos National Laboratory (505) 665-3065

From: 	booker@sgt-york.lanl.gov

>From: Wilson-Thomas, Mark
>Date: Mon, Jan 4, 1993 4:19 PM
>Subject: Thanks for Info on FORTRAN for Mac
>To: booker@sgt-york.lanl.gov
>Greetings from the UK, Clay!
>
>Thanks very much for the prompt information on FORTRAN compilers for Mac. 
>
>I have never used MPW before, nor SADE (the only Mac programming I have done
>is 
>in Think C)-in your opinion how does MPW/SADE compare as an development 
>environment with Think C (in simple terms-eg how easy to debug)?
>
>Thanks again, and a very happy 1993 to you!
>
>Mark Wilson-Thomas

Think-C (and Think Pascal, I use both) is a very nice environment and, in
my opinion, sets the standard for Mac development environments.  MPW
(Macintosh Programmer's Workshop) stinks!  It is a Unix environment in a
Mac window(s). Most companies choose to implement their compilers in MPW
because it is an off the shelf environment that they can simply bundle with
their compiler.  MPW has a built-in editor that is not ideal for Fortran
(it is hard to tell what column you are in -- in the past there was a
stand-alone editor called Freditor that marked columns 6 72 and any others
you specify).  It will execute typed commands like Unix, and the compliers
are implemented this way.  Absoft and Language Systems provide scripts
and/or menu items to assist you in this, but it is no way as easy as Think
C in building a project.  MPW takes some getting used to, and requires some
learning.  Fortunately, you do not need to master it for Fortran.  I use
its editor to create and edit code, and I use the modified scripts to
compile and link code.  I have no desire to become an MPW master, and I
don't have to to use it.

SADE, on the other hand, is a nice source level debugger.  SADE looks like
MPW, but it doesn't run within MPW.  You simple create a Symbol Table file
when you compile the code, and then you can launch SADE by double-clicking
the Symbol Table file.  SADE automatically opens your source file and
allows you to set brakepoints (bp).  You may examine variables when a bp is
reached, and/or you may select variables to 'watch'.  Watch variables
display changes as the code runs (nice in loops).  However, SADE does NOT
understand Fortran character variables.  Instead it appears to look for a
null, as in C, to terminate the character string;  this is a real pain if
you must debug character data.  In fact, because of SADE, I had to move my
parsing program to the Sun rather than create/debug it on the Mac.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Clay Booker (cxb@lanl.gov)
Los Alamos National Laboratory (505) 665-3065

From: NAME: mccoy@Cayman.COM 

I saw your note on netnews regarding Fortran for the Mac. Microsoft used to
have a Macintosh implementation -- I don't know if they still do. I think I
still have a copy.
-- 
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* Mark "Wilf" Wilson-Thomas, Heavy Oil Characterisation for BP Oil Tech Ctr   *
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