Path: g2news2.google.com!news3.google.com!fu-berlin.de!uni-berlin.de!individual.net!not-for-mail From: nos...@see.signature (Richard Maine) Newsgroups: comp.lang.fortran Subject: Re: Some newbye questions Date: Mon, 11 May 2009 10:10:30 -0700 Lines: 51 Message-ID: <1izjpex.r9j0lg1robp4wN%nospam@see.signature> References: <20090510191854.9738.68440.XPN@L622132.user.x-privat.org> <1izi2i2.16t1gjkzp5ipwN%nospam@see.signature> <865305c9-9cb1-4fa1-9921-524cd8308481@v17g2000vbb.googlegroups.com> X-Trace: individual.net Avml/Y5g+/4eSobcCEaymQqv4AupaengpGsFcYiAkdBzpIeFqu X-Orig-Path: nospam Cancel-Lock: sha1:ukOfqh7EUAbqDzlPTaBCac6et3o= User-Agent: MacSOUP/2.8.2 (Mac OS X version 10.5.6 (x86)) Ian Bush wrote: > On 11 May, 15:07, viper-2 wrote: > > On May 10, 4:02 pm, nos...@see.signature (Richard Maine) wrote: > > > > > I tend to disagree with most of what Chapman says... > > My Googling pointed me towards Chapman, so what Fortran text books do > > you recommend then? I do plan to get a copy of "The Fortran 2003 > > Handbook" by Maine, Hendrickson et al. but a couple of other texts > > would be fine. > > > "Fortran 95/2003 Explained" Michael Metcalf, John Reid, Malcolm Cohen, > published by OUP I've got a bit of a conflict of interest in recommending Fortran texts. (It isn't quite what one might think of as the most "obvious" conflict; the amount of money I get from a single book sale wouldn't buy a soft drink, much less the "traditional" nominal beer bet. The conflict has more to do with our contract with the publisher, which says that I'm not supposed to do things that would have a negative effect on the sales). But tiptoeing around that, I'll agree with the above recommendation of MR&C. It is widely recommended here. It is a lot shorter than our book. Partly that's because our book tries to be a comprehensive handbook for the whole language, including the obscure corners. I know all three of them, John and Malcolm petty well, and they are nice guys as well. I've never seen Robin's book, mentioned elsethread, and don't intend to. Sorry. But I find it hard to reconcile the apparent level of Fortran... um... let's call it "expertise" exhibited here with authoring a viable book. I find it even harder to reconcile good advice with the apparent level of insight shown here into what problems people might be running into. At times, I can't tell whether the errors and misinterpretations are an intentional "game" or reflect his actual understanding. Both seem far out enough for it to be hard for me to imagine. At times, I've been impressed in a way with the degree of Fortran knowledge that I'd think it must take to come up with an example that could simultaneously appear to illustrate a point, yet be so completely wrong (fun with TRIM comes particularly to mind). It's been a long time since I even read his posts, so perhaps there has been reform. Maybe it's a great book, but I'll never know first hand. I've recently mentioned Cooper Redwine's "Upgrading to Fortran 90" for users already experienced in f77, though it is long out of print and the used prices at Amazon US seem exhorbitant. -- Richard Maine | Good judgment comes from experience; email: last name at domain . net | experience comes from bad judgment. domain: summertriangle | -- Mark Twain