Fortran 95/2003 Explained (Numerical Mathematics and Scientific Computation) (Paperback)

by Michael Metcalf (Author), John Reid (Author), Malcolm Cohen (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Fortran is one of the principle languages used in the fields of scientific, numerical, and engineering programming today. This textbook for advanced students and practitioners describes the standards of Fortran's latest two versions in a manner that aims to illuminate the implications of its features and support its use in the writing of new programs. Included in the appendices are a list of the intrinsic procedures; a description of the obsolescent features; an extended example illustrating the use of pointers and recursion; advice on avoiding compilation cascades; a glossary; and solutions to most of the exercises."--SciTech Book News


Product Description
Fortran remains one of the principal languages used in scientific, numerical and engineering programming and a series of revisions to the standard versions of the language have progressively enhanced its power. The latest standard-Fortran 2003-greatly extends the power of the language, by introducing object-oriented concepts, interoperability with C, better integration with operating systems and many other enhancements. This text details all these new features. Fortran 95/2003 Explained, significantly expands on the second edition of Fortran 90/95 Explained (also publised by Oxford University Press): the opening chapters contain a complete description of the Fortran 95 language and are followed by descriptions of three formally approved extensions; six completely new chapters describe in detail the features that are new in Fortran 2003, but the distinction between the various language levels is kept clear throughout. Authored by the leading experts in the development of the language, this is the only complete and authoritative description of the two languages (Fortran 95 and Fortran 2003). Containing numerous examples, exercises and solutions, and an extensive index, it is highly suitable as both a student textbook and practitioner reference.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 440 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 3rd edition (August 26, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198526938
• ISBN-13: 978-0198526933
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #362,065 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Concise, authoritative, clear, not for new programmers., January 2, 2005

By	V. Rao - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fortran 95 and especially Fortran 2003 are more modern and larger languages than the Fortran 77 many programmers have used. Some of the features in Fortran 95 not in Fortran 77 are free source form, array operations (similar to Matlab), user-defined types, and modules. Some new features in Fortran 2003 are support for object oriented programming with (single) inheritance, procedure (function) pointers, IEEE arithmetic, interoperability with C, and command line arguments.

The first ten chapters of the book cover the Fortran 95 subset of Fortran 2003, and the following chapters cover the new features of Fortran 2003.

The three co-authors are Fortran experts and have served on the
Fortran standards committee. Their writing is clear and concise,
packing a great deal of information into 416 pages. Earlier editions have been the most referenced books by serious Fortran programmers.

The book plays a role for Fortran a similar to Stroustrup's "The C++ Programming Language" for C++. It is not a textbook for a novice programmer -- the reader should already know the basics of procedural programming. More pedagogical books on Fortran 90/95 for are those by Meissner, Chapman, and
Ellis/Phillips/Lahey. A good book for transitioning Fortran 77
programmers is one by Redwine.

Fortran 2003 compilers are not yet available as of January 2005. I suggest that the reader focus on the Fortran 95 chapters and write some programs to get a feel for the language. Then the motivations for the Fortran 2003 features described later in the book will be clearer.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not for beginners, July 13, 2006

By	Remko Scharroo - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have some 20 years experience in coding in Fortran 77, but finally needed to catch up with Fortran 95 and 2003. I have also bought "Fortran 90/95 for Scientists and Engineers" by Stephen Chapman and found that a much better book for beginners in Fortran 95. "Fortran 95/2003 Explained" reads, as other reviewers have noted, like a language reference. There is basically no build-up in this book and I also have the feeling that in earlier Chapters it is expected that you already know what comes in later Chapters. The examples in the book are rarely explanatory to me, they leave me often without a clear understanding of what purpose is served.

For those who want to learn Fortran 95 (even for those who are already fluent in Fortran 77) I would recommend to buy the book by Stephen Chapman instead. If you want a reference manual, "Fortran 95/2003 Explained" will likely serve you well.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Wealth of Information, but Difficult to Read., September 5, 2005

By	John K. Hayes (Espanola, NM USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The review by V. Rau descibes the book very well. I am not sure that I can add much. There is a wealth of information. However, it reads like a specification for program language yet to be written. The information is all there but be prepared to figure out for yourself how to use the specifications that they list. Fortran is the language of choice for number crunching problems. I was at a loss most of the time to try to figure out how the newer specifications that they list could apply to the number crunching.