# Fortran 2018 standard description **URL:** \ **Category:** Help\ **Created:** [May 6, 2021, 6:55am UTC](https://fortran-lang.discourse.group/t/fortran-2018-standard-description/1160 "2021-05-06T06:55:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![msz59](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3d9bf3/32.png) [@msz59](https://fortran-lang.discourse.group/u/msz59)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2021, 6:55am UTC](https://fortran-lang.discourse.group/t/fortran-2018-standard-description/1160/1 "2021-05-06T06:55:41Z")
Is the document marked as N2146, “Fortran 2018 Draft International Standard for Ballot”, the last freely available version of F2018 description? Had it changed significantly before the official standard was issued? And if so, are the changes documented somewhere in “open access”? ---
**Author:** ![vmagnin](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/fortran-lang.discourse.group/vmagnin/32/28_2.png) [@vmagnin](https://fortran-lang.discourse.group/u/vmagnin)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2021, 7:56am UTC](https://fortran-lang.discourse.group/t/fortran-2018-standard-description/1160/2 "2021-05-06T07:56:21Z")
> [@msz59](#): > > Is the document marked as N2146, “Fortran 2018 Draft International Standard for Ballot”, the last freely available version of F2018 description? I am using [https://j3-fortran.org/doc/year/18/18-007r1.pdf](https://j3-fortran.org/doc/year/18/18-007r1.pdf) > J3/18-007r1 (F2018 Interpretation Document) > 9th October 2018 16:46 > This is an internal working document of PL22.3 and WG5. ---
**Author:** ![msz59](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3d9bf3/32.png) [@msz59](https://fortran-lang.discourse.group/u/msz59)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2021, 8:37am UTC](https://fortran-lang.discourse.group/t/fortran-2018-standard-description/1160/3 "2021-05-06T08:37:25Z")
That one I also have but it is something different, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![rwmsu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/48db29/32.png) [@rwmsu](https://fortran-lang.discourse.group/u/rwmsu)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2021, 1:38pm UTC](https://fortran-lang.discourse.group/t/fortran-2018-standard-description/1160/4 "2021-05-06T13:38:29Z")
@msz59 you might also want to look at the current 202X working draft at [https://j3-fortran.org/doc/year/21/21-007.pdf](https://j3-fortran.org/doc/year/21/21-007.pdf). I’m guessing it would contain the 2018 standard plus corrections etc. ---
**Author:** ![sblionel](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/fortran-lang.discourse.group/sblionel/32/853_2.png) [@sblionel](https://fortran-lang.discourse.group/u/sblionel)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2021, 6:51pm UTC](https://fortran-lang.discourse.group/t/fortran-2018-standard-description/1160/5 "2021-05-06T18:51:15Z")
The issue here is that ISO maintains a copyright on the final standard, and issues takedown complaints if they see it publicly available. They want you to pay for a paper copy (which is just something they print from the PDF.) Nobody on the committee uses the official document. Instead, we use the one @vmagnin linked to as our reference for interpretations and edits. The advantage of the Interpretation Document is that it has line numbers, which the official standard does not. WG5, along with other ISO SC22 working groups, has lobbied ISO against its attempts to restrict access to all committee documents, not just the standard itself. We won a concession from ISO about this, though the ability to freely access the new ISO Documents system is still not active. For my part, I have resumed making WG5 documents available directly on [wg5-fortran.org](http://wg5-fortran.org) instead of linking to ISO. For PL22.3 (J3), INCITS wants us to pass a resolution expressing the desire for open documents, and we will do that. INCITS (under which J3 operates) wants copies of all J3 documents in their repository, causing extra work for Brian, but they allow us to continue using the [j3-fortran.org](http://j3-fortran.org) site as we have been for papers. ---
**Author:** ![vmagnin](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/fortran-lang.discourse.group/vmagnin/32/28_2.png) [@vmagnin](https://fortran-lang.discourse.group/u/vmagnin)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2021, 6:58pm UTC](https://fortran-lang.discourse.group/t/fortran-2018-standard-description/1160/6 "2021-05-06T18:58:27Z")
> [@sblionel](#): > > They want you to pay for a paper copy (which is just something they print from the PDF.) You can also just buy the PDF, for the same price (198 CHF): > **[ISO/IEC 1539-1:2018](https://committee.iso.org/standard/72320.html?browse=tc)** > > Information technology — Programming languages — Fortran — Part 1: Base language 198 CHF is 218 $ today, which is probably five to ten times the price people here would accept to pay. A counterproductive price… ---
**Author:** ![nbehrnd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e0b2c6/32.png) [@nbehrnd](https://fortran-lang.discourse.group/u/nbehrnd)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2021, 8:43pm UTC](https://fortran-lang.discourse.group/t/fortran-2018-standard-description/1160/7 "2021-05-06T20:43:24Z")
> [@vmagnin](#): > > 198 CHF is 218 $ today, which is probably five to ten times the price people here would accept to pay. A counterproductive price… You may equally check to access ISO norms _via_ other sources. [Perinorm](https://www.perinorm.com/home/default.aspx) for example is one «meta distributor» for national (e.g., French, British, German, etc.) as well as for international norms (e.g., ISO). There are [national partners](https://www.perinorm.com/home/distributors.aspx), too. Based on own experience, some larger university / engineering school libraries may grant you access to this database as _walk-in user_ (some contracts stipulate this clause to discern from the school’s own employees / students) if the results of your work with the database does not aim for commercial activity. (Access to the ASTM and IEEE norms isn’t cheap, either.)