Exploring pointers in Fortran: When and how to use them

[btrettel]

This linked thread discusses one way pointers are often used in unsteady partial differential equation solvers. However, seems like the best approach to the problem discussed uses move_alloc instead of pointers.

Swapping arrays during time-stepping

For time-stepping large PDE problems, it’s common to read from one array (the previous time step), and write to a second array (the result at the new time step). Afterward the arrays are swapped. This is also known as the “flip-flop” approach, or ping-ponging. The separate arrays also make the update step easier to parallelise (no race conditions). What is your favourite implementation approach? (Scroll down for examples) poll Separate arrays with parity flag real, allocatable :: f1(:), f2( …