Developer Studio Fortran 90: Features, Benefits, and Tips for Windows 7 Developers

Developer Studio Fortran 90 Windows 7: A Guide for Programmers

If you are a programmer who uses Fortran, you might be interested in Developer Studio Fortran 90, a powerful and versatile development environment that supports the Fortran 90 standard and many extensions. Developer Studio Fortran 90 is designed to help you create, compile, debug, and optimize your Fortran code for Windows 7 and other platforms. In this article, you will learn:

developer studio fortran 90 windows 7

• What is Developer Studio Fortran 90 and what are its features and benefits?

• How to install and use Developer Studio Fortran 90 on Windows 7?

• How to optimize your Fortran code with Developer Studio Fortran 90?

• How to integrate Developer Studio Fortran 90 with other development environments?

• How to migrate your existing Fortran code to Developer Studio Fortran 90?

By the end of this article, you will have a better understanding of how to use Developer Studio Fortran 90 to improve your productivity and performance as a Fortran programmer.

What is Developer Studio Fortran 90?

Developer Studio Fortran 90 is a development environment that provides a comprehensive set of tools for creating, compiling, debugging, and optimizing Fortran code. It is based on the Intel Fortran Compiler, which is one of the most advanced and reliable compilers for Fortran. It supports the latest standards and features of the Fortran language, such as modules, derived types, dynamic memory allocation, array operations, pointers, recursion, generics, operator overloading, and more. It also supports many extensions and dialects of Fortran, such as F77, F95, F2003, F2008, OpenMP*, Coarray Fortran*, etc.

Developer Studio Fortran 90 offers many advantages for Fortran programmers, such as:

• It generates optimized code that takes advantage of the features and capabilities of Intel processors and other architectures.

• It provides a user-friendly interface that allows you to easily manage your projects, files, options, and settings.

• It includes a graphical debugger that helps you find and fix errors in your code.

• It includes a profiler that helps you measure and improve the performance of your code.

• It includes a code analysis tool that helps you check the quality and correctness of your code.

• It includes a performance tuning tool that helps you identify and eliminate bottlenecks in your code.

• It integrates seamlessly with other popular development environments, such as Microsoft Visual Studio*, Eclipse CDT*, Oracle Developer Studio*, etc.

A brief history of Fortran

Fortran is one of the oldest and most widely used programming languages in the world. It was developed in the 1950s by John Backus and his team at IBM as a high-level language for scientific and engineering computations. The name "Fortran" stands for "Formula Translation", as it was designed to translate mathematical formulas into machine code. The first version of Fortran, known as Fortran I, was released in 1957 and was followed by several revisions and enhancements, such as Fortran II, Fortran IV, Fortran 66, Fortran 77, etc.

In 1991, a new standard for Fortran was published, known as Fortran 90. It introduced many new features and improvements to the language, such as free-form source code, modules, derived types, dynamic memory allocation, array operations, pointers, recursion, generics, operator overloading, etc. It also deprecated some obsolete and redundant features of the previous versions of Fortran. Fortran 90 was a major milestone in the evolution of the language and paved the way for further developments and innovations.

Since then, several new standards and extensions for Fortran have been developed and adopted by the Fortran community, such as Fortran 95, Fortran 2003, Fortran 2008, OpenMP*, Coarray Fortran*, etc. These standards and extensions have added more functionality and flexibility to the language, such as object-oriented programming, parallel programming, interoperability with C, enhanced input/output, etc. Today, Fortran is still a popular and powerful language for scientific and engineering applications that require high performance and accuracy.

The features and benefits of Developer Studio Fortran 90

Developer Studio Fortran 90 is a development environment that supports the Fortran 90 standard and many extensions and dialects of Fortran. It is based on the Intel Fortran Compiler, which is one of the most advanced and reliable compilers for Fortran. It offers many features and benefits for Fortran programmers, such as:

• It generates optimized code that takes advantage of the features and capabilities of Intel processors and other architectures. It supports various optimization levels and options that allow you to control the trade-off between speed and size of your code. It also supports vectorization, parallelization, loop transformation, interprocedural optimization, profile-guided optimization, etc., that can significantly improve the performance of your code.

• It provides a user-friendly interface that allows you to easily manage your projects, files, options, and settings. You can create and organize your projects using a graphical project manager that lets you add, remove, rename, copy, or move files and folders. You can also customize your compiler options and settings using a graphical option manager that lets you select or modify various parameters for your code generation.

• It includes a graphical debugger that helps you find and fix errors in your code. You can set breakpoints, watch variables, inspect expressions, modify values, step through your code, etc., using a graphical debugger window that shows you the source code, the call stack, the registers, the memory, etc. You can also use various commands and options to control the execution and behavior of your debugger.

• It includes a profiler that helps you measure and improve the performance of your code. You can collect and analyze various metrics and statistics about your code execution, such as CPU time, memory usage, cache misses, branch mispredictions, etc., using a graphical profiler window that shows you the source code, the call graph, the hotspots, etc. You can also use various filters and options to focus on the relevant parts of your code.

• It includes a code analysis tool that helps you check the quality and correctness of your code. You can detect and diagnose various errors and warnings in your code, such as syntax errors, semantic errors, memory leaks, uninitialized variables, array bounds violations, etc., using a graphical code analysis window that shows you the source code, the messages, the locations, etc. You can also use various options and settings to customize the level and scope of your code analysis.

• It includes a performance tuning tool that helps you identify and eliminate bottlenecks in your code. You can perform various experiments and tests on your code, such as changing compiler options, modifying source code, adding or removing parallelism, etc., using a graphical performance tuning window that shows you the source code, the results, the comparisons, etc. You can also use various tools and options to automate and simplify your performance tuning process.

• It integrates seamlessly with other popular development environments, such as Microsoft Visual Studio*, Eclipse CDT*, Oracle Developer Studio*, etc. You can use Developer Studio Fortran 90 as a standalone environment or as a plugin for other environments. You can also import and export projects and files between different environments. You can also use the same compiler options and settings across different environments.

How to install and use Developer Studio Fortran 90 on Windows 7

To install and use Developer Studio Fortran 90 on Windows 7, you need to follow these steps:

• Download the installer file from the official website of Developer Studio Fortran 90. You can choose between a full installation or a custom installation depending on your needs and preferences.

• Run the installer file and follow the instructions on the screen. You will need to accept the license agreement, choose the installation directory, select the components to install, etc.

• After the installation is complete, you can launch Developer Studio Fortran 90 from the Start menu or from the desktop shortcut. You will see a welcome screen that gives you some options to start your work.

• You can create a new project or open an existing project using the File menu or the toolbar buttons. You can also use the Project Wizard to help you create a new project with some predefined settings and templates.

• You can add or remove files to your project using the Project menu or the Project Explorer window. You can also edit or view your files using the Editor window or the File Viewer window.

• You can compile or build your project using the Build menu or the toolbar buttons. You can also configure your compiler options and settings using the Project Properties dialog box or the Option Manager window.

• You can debug or run your project using the Debug menu or the toolbar buttons. You can also use the Debugger window or the Console window to control and monitor your debugging or running process.

• You can profile or analyze your project using the Tools menu or the toolbar buttons. You can also use the Profiler window or the Code Analysis window to collect and view various metrics and statistics about your code execution.

• You can tune or optimize your project using the Tools menu or the toolbar buttons. You can also use the Performance Tuning window or the Experiment Manager window to perform and compare various experiments and tests on your code.

• You can integrate or export your project with other development environments using the File menu or the toolbar buttons. You can also use the Integration Wizard or the Export Wizard to help you integrate or export your project with Microsoft Visual Studio*, Eclipse CDT*, Oracle Developer Studio*, etc.

These are the basic steps to install and use Developer Studio Fortran 90 on Windows 7. You can find more detailed and specific information and instructions in the user guide and the online help of Developer Studio Fortran 90.

How to optimize your Fortran code with Developer Studio Fortran 90

One of the main goals of using Developer Studio Fortran 90 is to optimize your Fortran code and make it run faster and more efficiently. Developer Studio Fortran 90 provides various tools and options that can help you achieve this goal, such as:

The compiler options and settings

The compiler options and settings are the parameters that control how the compiler generates the executable code from your source code. You can customize these parameters to suit your needs and preferences, such as choosing the optimization level, enabling or disabling certain features, specifying the target architecture, etc. You can access and modify these parameters using the Project Properties dialog box or the Option Manager window. Some of the most important compiler options and settings that affect the optimization of your code are:

• The optimization level: This is a general parameter that determines how much the compiler tries to optimize your code. You can choose between different levels, such as no optimization, basic optimization, advanced optimization, etc. The higher the level, the more aggressive the compiler is in applying various optimization techniques, such as loop transformation, vectorization, parallelization, interprocedural optimization, etc. However, higher levels may also increase the compilation time and the code size.

• The vectorization: This is a specific parameter that determines whether the compiler tries to use vector instructions to speed up your code. Vector instructions are special instructions that can operate on multiple data elements at once, such as adding two arrays element-wise. You can enable or disable vectorization for your whole project or for specific loops or routines. You can also specify various options to control how the compiler performs vectorization, such as choosing the vector length, aligning the data, handling dependencies, etc.

• The parallelization: This is another specific parameter that determines whether the compiler tries to use parallel threads to speed up your code. Parallel threads are multiple execution units that can run simultaneously on different cores or processors, such as dividing a loop among four cores. You can enable or disable parallelization for your whole project or for specific loops or routines. You can also specify various options to control how the compiler performs parallelization, such as choosing the number of threads, setting the affinity, handling synchronization, etc.

• The interprocedural optimization: This is another specific parameter that determines whether the compiler tries to optimize your code across different procedures or modules. Interprocedural optimization can improve the performance of your code by eliminating redundant or unnecessary operations, inlining functions, propagating constants, etc. You can enable or disable interprocedural optimization for your whole project or for specific procedures or modules. You can also specify various options to control how the compiler performs interprocedural optimization, such as choosing the scope, setting the threshold, handling recursion, etc.

• The profile-guided optimization: This is a special parameter that determines whether the compiler tries to optimize your code based on the actual behavior and characteristics of your code execution. Profile-guided optimization can improve the performance of your code by adjusting various parameters and options according to the collected profile data, such as choosing the best optimization level, selecting the best vectorization or parallelization strategy, reordering or rearranging the code, etc. You can enable or disable profile-guided optimization for your whole project or for specific procedures or modules. You can also specify various options to control how the compiler performs profile-guided optimization, such as choosing the profile mode, setting the sampling rate, handling feedback, etc.

These are some of the most important compiler options and settings that affect the optimization of your code. You can find more detailed and specific information and instructions in the user guide and the online help of Developer Studio Fortran 90.

The debugging and profiling tools

The debugging and profiling tools are the tools that help you find and fix errors in your code and measure and improve the performance of your code. Developer Studio Fortran 90 provides various debugging and profiling tools that can help you achieve these goals, such as:

• The graphical debugger: This is a tool that helps you find and fix errors in your code by allowing you to control and monitor the execution of your code. You can set breakpoints, watch variables, inspect expressions, modify values, step through your code, etc., using a graphical debugger window that shows you the source code, the call stack, the registers, the memory, etc. You can also use various commands and options to control the execution and behavior of your debugger.

• The graphical profiler: This is a tool that helps you measure and improve the performance of your code by allowing you to collect and analyze various metrics and statistics about your code execution. You can collect and analyze various metrics and statistics about your code execution, such as CPU time, memory usage, cache misses, branch mispredictions, etc., using a graphical profiler window that shows you the source code, the call graph, the hotspots, etc. You can also use various filters and options to focus on the relevant parts of your code.

• The code analysis tool: This is a tool that helps you check the quality and correctness of your code by allowing you to detect and diagnose various errors and warnings in your code. You can detect and diagnose various errors and warnings in your code, such as syntax errors, semantic errors, memory leaks, uninitialized variables, array bounds violations, etc., using a graphical code analysis window that shows you the source code, the messages, the locations, etc. You can also use various options and settings to customize the level and scope of your code analysis.

• The performance tuning tool: This is a tool that helps you identify and eliminate bottlenecks in your code by allowing you to perform various experiments and tests on your code. You can perform various experiments and tests on your code, such as changing compiler options, modifying source code, adding or removing parallelism, etc., using a graphical performance tuning window that shows you the source code, the results, the comparisons, etc. You can also use various tools and options to automate and simplify your performance tuning process.

These are some of the most important debugging and profiling tools that affect the optimization of your code. You can find more detailed and specific information and instructions in the user guide and the online help of Developer Studio Fortran 90.

How to integrate Developer Studio Fortran 90 with other development environments

Developer Studio Fortran 90 is a development environment that can work independently or in conjunction with other development environments. Developer Studio Fortran 90 provides various features and options that can help you integrate it with other development environments, such as:

Microsoft Visual Studio

Microsoft Visual Studio is a popular development environment for Windows that supports various languages and platforms. Developer Studio Fortran 90 can integrate with Microsoft Visual Studio as a plugin that adds Fortran support to the existing environment. You can use Developer Studio Fortran 90 as a plugin for Microsoft Visual Studio by following these steps:

• Install Microsoft Visual Studio on your system if you have not already done so. You can choose between different versions and editions of Microsoft Visual Studio depending on your needs and preferences.

• Install Developer Studio Fortran 90 on your system if you have not already done so. You can choose between a full installation or a custom installation depending on your needs and preferences.

• During the installation of Developer Studio Fortran 90, select the option to integrate with Microsoft Visual Studio. You can choose between different versions of Microsoft Visual Studio depending on what you have installed on your system.

• After the installation is complete, you can launch Microsoft Visual Studio from the Start menu or from the desktop shortcut. You will see a welcome screen that gives you some options to start your work.

• You can create a new project or open an existing project using the File menu or the toolbar buttons. You can also use the Project Wizard to help you create a new project with some predefined settings and templates.

• You can add or remove files to your project using the Project menu or the Solution Explorer window. You can also edit or view your files using the Editor window or the File Viewer window.

You can compile or build your project using the Build menu or the toolbar buttons. You can also configure your compiler options and settings using Eclipse CDT

Eclipse CDT is a pop