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Modern Fortran explained: incorporating Fortran 2018
Metcalf M., Reid J., Cohen M., Oxford University Press, New York, NY, 2018. 522 pp. Type: Book (978-0-198811-88-6)
Date Reviewed: Mar 19 2021

First introduced in 1957, FORTRAN was designed to be easier than an assembler language for writing algebraic equations on a computer. In this, FORTRAN was spectacularly successful.

More than 60 years later, Fortran (officially renamed since Fortran 90) [1] continues to be a dominant language, if not the language of choice, for scientific applications, especially very large applications that require parallel and efficient execution of perhaps millions of lines of code. Most, if not all, supercomputers have Fortran compilers [2]. Excellent compilers, both commercial and free, are available for the full range of computers, from desktops to supercomputers. Fortran continues to be updated at a rather stately pace [3]. The latest version is Fortran 2018.

Modern Fortran explained provides a definitive description of the language, and is much easier to understand than the official technical definition. The book is indispensable for both Fortran practitioners and students. The writing is exceptionally clear and easy to comprehend; sample code demonstrates the topics at hand; and chapters end with exercises. Note: the chapter titles in the current edition are different than those in the previous edition (which was reviewed by Timothy Hopkins [4]).

If you already know another programming language, you could easily learn Fortran from this book:

In order to reduce the number of forward references and to enable, as quickly as possible, useful programs to be written based on material already absorbed, the order of presentation does not always follow that of the standard. (p. v)

If you are learning programming and Fortran concurrently, this book may not be the best source for you at this time--it is not meant to be a tutorial for beginners. However, excellent (though not numerous) recently published textbooks that cover modern Fortran, including Fortran 2018, are available both in print and online.

I’d like to briefly focus on Appendix A, “Deprecated Features.” These are features deprecated not by the standard, but rather by the authors. Although initially inclined to dismiss one of their suggestions out of hand, after looking at their reasoning, I fully agree with all their recommendations and will gladly follow them.

At this point I’d like to restate a well-known fact about Fortran: since Fortran 77, each new version of the language is a subset of its successor. Standard-compliant compilers must honor that requirement and ensure that programs written in earlier versions of Fortran can be compiled. This greatly facilitates the maintenance and upgrading of millions (billions?) of lines of Fortran code in existence, much of it thoroughly validated by the ongoing use of utilities and applications written years ago.

Fortran is not a language that will disappear any time soon; on the contrary, its continued use can be expected for the foreseeable future. Many people, myself included, love it.

Although used primarily in numeric applications, modern Fortran is a very nice and up-to-date general-purpose programming language. Easier to learn than others (such as C++), Fortran provides a very good environment to develop any kind of application.

Transitioning from FORTRAN to modern Fortran is not particularly difficult. If your job requires, you can maintain older applications in the former and write new code in the latter--using the same compiler.

I recommend this book wholeheartedly.

More reviews about this item: Amazon

Reviewer:  Edgar R. Chavez Review #: CR147220 (2107-0164)
1) , High-performance parallel programming language https://fortran-lang.org/ (11/02/2020).
2) , The top 10 supercomputers, the new scientific giants https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/technology/innovation/the-top-10-supercomputers-the-new-scientific-giants/ (02/11/2020).
3) , US Fortran Standards Committee https://j3-fortran.org/ (11/02/2020).
4) Hopkins, T. Review of Modern Fortran explained (4th ed.), by Metcalf et al. Computing Reviews (Mar. 27, 2012), CR Rev. No. 140014 (1208-0773).
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