Fortran 90/95 Explained

Book excerpt: The success of Fortran as the predominant programming language in the field of scientific and numerical computing is due, in part, to its steady evolution. Following the publication of standards in 1966 and 1978, the committee responsible for their development, X3J3, worked in conjunction with an ISO committee to develop a standard suitable for use in the 1990's and beyond. This standard, ISO Fortran 90, contained new features for large-scale computing nd data abstraction, but still retained all the old familiar features. Fortran 90/95 Explained is a thorough examination of Fortran in 1995. It represents a complete revision of the original 1990 text Fortran 90 Explained, in particular a more detailed explanation of many features, more examples, and new appendices. One completely new chapter discusses Fortran 95, a revision of the ISO Fortran 90 standard based on the interpretations that have been requested following its implementation and use. In addition, new features to keep ISO Fortran aligned with High Performance Fortran have been added, along with a number of minor improvements. All of these are fully described for programmers wanting to update their skills.