Structured Fortran
Originally published on macresearch.org, around 2008. Reproduced from the author's archive; some links may no longer resolve.
Structured Programming in Fortran 90
Author: Drew McCormack
Web Site: www.maccoremac.com (link no longer available)
There are many books on Fortran programming available, and they all do a very good job of describing the syntax and constructions of the language. But there are very few books on Fortran that explain how to write robust software. These books exist in abundance for languages like C++ and Java, but Fortran programmers are usually left to fend for themselves, and the results are not always pretty.
I’m beginning a new course on Fortran programming at my university, and I decided I wanted to put a strong emphasis on software development and design. I didn’t just want to teach students what an if/then/else/endif construction was, but also how you build up a complex piece of software out of Abstract Data Types, so that it is maintainable and can be easily extended.
I’m making available two of the chapters (link no longer available) from the course in the hope that they will fill in some of the gaps in the literature for other Fortran developers. The chapters question deal with general principles of software design, and how you work with Abstract Data Types (ADTs) in Fortran 90.