UNIX for FORTRAN Programmers

By Mike Loukides
January 1900
Pages: 264
ISBN 10: 0-937175-51-X | ISBN 13: 9780937175514

This book is OUT OF PRINT.

Description

This handbook lowers the UNIX entry barrier by providing the serious scientific programmer with an introduction to the UNIX operating system and its tools. It familiarizes readers with the most important tools so they can be productive as quickly as possible. Assumes some knowledge of FORTRAN, none of UNIX or C.
Full Description

UNIX for FORTRAN Programmers provides the serious scientific programmer with an introduction to the UNIX operating system and its tools. The intent of the book is to minimize the UNIX entry barrier and to familiarize readers with the most important tools so they can be productive as quickly as possible. UNIX for FORTRAN Programmers shows readers how to do things they're interested in: not just how to use a tool such as make or rcs, but how to use it in program development and how it fits into the toolset as a whole. The tools discussed include:
  • The FORTRAN compiler (f77).
  • UNIX interactive command languages, or shells (csh for interactive use, sh for shell programming).
  • vi, the standard UNIX editor.
  • Object library management tools (ar and ranlib).
  • The programming environment (I/O, basic system calls, error handling).
  • The adb and dbx debuggers.
  • prof, gprof, time, profiling tools.
  • make, a tool for automating complex compilations.
  • rcs, a source code management system for large projects.
  • Common porting problems.

Featured customer reviews

Be the first person to review this book!

Write a Review

Media reviews "This book is a very readable introduction to Unix and how to run Fortran programs under it. It does not set out to be (and is not) an exhaustive description of Unix but it does refer to other books or manuals that provide more details. If you are new to Unix, this book is for you. Chapter 1 gives a succinct outline of Unix in 36 pages or so; it will be a while before you need more than is written there. Chapter 2 is a ten-page resume of the vi editor, evidently the favourite of Unix gurus, despite coming from the stone age (just a personal opinion {:]).

"Then chapter 3 gets down to what we Fortran people want to know: how to compile and link a source text. In my case, I like to work with object libraries, and how to do it is right there, and not in so much detail that I feel pressured - this is general for this book. Twenty-five pages, and I am in business. No doubt chapter 4, on the Fortran Working Environment, is useful to some - I skipped it mostly, as it tells me things I already know about I/O or will soon find out (e.g. default file names) or stuff that I wouldn't use, not being standard Fortran. I did check out Timing, which of course is system dependent and I will need to change the contents of, e.g., my subroutines that measure cpu time from one point in time to another. Chapter 5 is on debugging, and is again admirably concise. If it all works as described there, I anticipate using dbx quite a lot; a nice tool.

"Everybody tells me I should be using make files. I am not yet convinced about this but chapter 6 describes this briefly (I know there is a whole book about these). Chapter 7 is about Source Management with RCS, which is for large programming projects; I skipped that. Finally, chapter 8 has more detail about timing and profiling, which does not concern me so much because there are not many users on my machine, but it's there for those who are in a more pressured environment.

Read all reviews
UNIX for FORTRAN Programmers
See larger cover

Got a Question?






Favicon Service and support by Satisfaction