[Announce] Absoft interested in making Fortran compiler -- needs user feedback

[Jason Haas]

Dear users,

We have been asked to assist Absoft, makers of the #1 commercial Linux/x86
Fortran compiler, in determining if there is a market for their product on
the Linux/PowerPC platform.

The company offers tools for single CPU, auto parallelizing tools for
multi-processor SMP boxes and are widely used by the Beowulf community.
Argonne Labs maintains Absoft/MPICH libraries for download.

According to Wood Lotz of Absoft, "If there is a market for Fortran on
LinuxPPC we would first offer the basic single CPU Pro Fortran toolset and
see what happens. I know we could get Argonne to offer Absoft/MPICH for
PPC, and expect we could quickly expand to offer auto SMP tools and IMSL
Math and Stat libraries if the market was there."

The proposed Absoft Pro Fortran for LinuxPPC would be similar in content
and features to the Absoft Pro Fortran for Linux/Intel. Details on this
product are available at http://www.absoft.com.  Questions on the proposed
Pro Fortran for LinuxPPC should be directed to Wood Lotz [wlz at absoft.com]
at Absoft.

What we need from you:

If you would be very interested in purchasing Absoft's Pro Fortan if a
Linux/PowerPC version were available, we need to hear from you. We're
looking for a simple head count to determine if it would be worth it for
Absoft to port.

Simply send an email to "fortran at linuxppc.com" with the word "Yes" as the
subject. Note that any message sent to this address will be counted as a
"yes".

About Absoft Pro Fortran for LinuxPPC [proposed]

Pro Fortran is a suite of aggressively optimizing F90 and F77 compilers 
[including AltiVec support] plus a graphical debugger. Also included are 
VAX/Unix subroutine compatibility libraries to facilitate porting from
workstations, precompiled BLAS, LAPACK90 and HDF libraries, printed
documentation and free tech support. IMSL Math and Stat F90MP v4.0
libraries would be optional. Absoft/MPICH libraries could be obtained
from Argonne Labs. Absoft also offers source compatible compilers for
Macintosh, Win32 and Linux/Intel.

Absoft F90 utilizes a version of Cray's CF90 front end which 
has been extended to support all popular workstation extensions and
operate efficiently in the desktop environment. It is largely source
compatible with Sun and SGI F90 compilers also based on CF90.

Absoft FORTRAN 77 for Linux is a globally optimizing, ANSI
X3.9-1978/ISO 1539-1980 compiler designed for porting legacy F77
code from workstations to the desktop. Conforming to iABI
standards, the compiler meets all DoD MIL-STD 1753, FIPS 69-1,
and POSIX standards, supports most popular VAX/VMS extensions
including RECORD, STRUCTURE, POINTER, and UNION, (per
V5.4 of VMS FORTRAN), as well as others from IBM/VS, Cray,
included. Absoft F77 is the best solution for porting legacy code to
the Linux environment.

Fx is a multi-language (C, F90, F77, and assembly), source level
symbolic debugger with a graphical interface. Fx includes a powerful
expression analyzer that automatically recognizes source languages 
as they are encountered. 

Program variables can be displayed in a variety of formats and modified 
while debugging; arrays can be indexed with expressions, and multiple 
elements can be displayed with a single command. Hardware breakpoints, 
variable monitors, and single stepping at both the source and instruction 
level provide precise control over program execution. Used with Absoft 
F90 and F77, Fx recognizes constructs such as adjustable arrays, character 
sub-strings, and complex numbers. ELF core files are supported. 

The proposed Absoft Pro Fortran for LinuxPPC would be similar in content
and features to the Absoft Pro Fortran for Linux/Intel. Details on this
product are available at http://www.absoft.com.

Questions on the proposed Pro Fortran for LinuxPPC should be directed to Wood Lotz [wlz at absoft.com] at Absoft.

--

Thank you for your input on this matter.

Sincerely,

Jason Haas, LinuxPPC Inc.
jhaas at linuxppc.com


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