Description of old FORTRAN idioms

I have mentioned it before, but my description of old FORTRAN idioms, like COMMON blocks and the use of ARRAY(1) instead of ARRAY(*) and the like, is nearing completion. You can find the result at https://github.com/arjenmarkus/old-programming-idioms/tree/main/doc, in the hope it is useful. And otherwise it was fun anyway :slight_smile: to write it up.

I will not be making any more changes until I am back from my holiday (beginning of august), but I do appreciate comments, additions, corrections and other suggestions for improvement.

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@Arjen
Excellent work. For those of us who have had the unfortunate task of trying to teach younger people about the differences in what I like to call Jurassic FORTRAN and Modern Fortran, having a Rosetta stone is a big help. One omission I would like to point out though is SENSE SWITCH :laughing:. Just kidding but you would be surprised how often it appears in old 1960 era NASA reports that contain full code listings.

Edit.

Also, if you can find a copy in a library somewhere, I would recommend you look at Fredrick Stuart’s " Fortran Programming" book circa 1970 (my first Fortran book). It has some nice fold out tables on the capabilities of various compilers and hardware from that period and also does a good job of covering what was I guess the unofficial standard at the time sometimes referred to as Fortran IV.

@Arjen,

Great effort to capture this.

Please take a look at this “Rosetta Stone” at Fortran-lang.org on Python-Fortran:
Python Fortran Rosetta Stone — Fortran Programming Language

Perhaps you will consider working Fortran-lang folks to create a “Rosetta Stone”, as mentioned by @rwmsu upthread, and strive toward a link to it under Learn — Fortran Programming Language?

It can then be a Community-driven effort where other contributors can submit PRs for additional idioms and other idiosyncrasies to keep in mind when it comes to working with or reviewing legacy FORTRAN code?

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Likely more suitable for short intermittent use, there is a digitized copy on archive.org of Wiley’s edition by 1969 (requires their free libary card; pending availability, the book can borrowed in slots of an hour each). Else, entry worldcat.org.

It so happens that the library of the university next door owns a paper copy of that book. So, I have asked to get it on loan :slight_smile:

Thanks for all your reactions - I will pick it up again in a few weeks’ time.