Hi All
Have just completed to production stage a VB.NET (with native VB dll) interactive GUI application for a water engineering application.
A few observations/notes. (Comments and corrections by others most welcome - as usual).
On the .NET experience:
* native dll was necessary to get speed to reasonable level for the number-crunching (engine) part of the application.
* where number-crunching involves array operations (as the dll did - in preference to object operations), I would predict that Fortran compilers will improve performance further.
* .NET is generally not cross platform - per se it is only for the Windows OS. And the languages you can directly use in .NET are peculiar to that environment. C# is the language most directly connected to .NET.
* VB was not my choice for the .NET language in the application example I cite. But it did make it easier for an old Fortran user to write the initial code.
* .NET does give you access to the windows image handling of GDI+, but this alone does not justifiy its use.
* the development environment is sophisticated, but the whole concept suggests 'a sledgehammer to crack a peanut'. Performance optimisation requires unnecessary sophistication.
In General:
* if an interactive GUI for number-crunching is your goal, then I suggest you use one of the proprietory adjuncts to Fortran compilers.
* in that regard, I am aware of Winteractor which is 'Windows-OS-centric' - and operates on a Lahey compiler (amongst others?). Its predecessor was Interactor - which allowed use on Linux PCs.
* Lahey also does a .NET fortran compiler version. I have no experience of Fortran performance within .NET.
* no doubt amongst many others, Borland have a variety of IDE software including Delphi (Windows GUI) and Kylix (Linux GUI) - none of which I am really familiar with.
* if you have some resources, and an interest in being assured of the performance outcomes and reducing longer term costs, you could utilise and develop the open-source material available.
Hope this is of some assistance and a start
Gary Hargraves
-----Original Message-----
From: Fortran 90 List [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf
Of Naomi Greenberg
Sent: Monday, 17 October 2005 11:02 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Help mastering LF95
On this topic, I am converting our programmers to a PC development
enviromnent. We want a visual development environment. Does anyone have
experience good or bad with Visual Studio .NET (soon to be 2005) and Intel
Fortran? Any advice as to the best environment tool? Thanks!
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ian Chivers" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, October 14, 2005 12:29 PM
Subject: Re: Help mastering LF95
> You have a number of options
>
> 1. visual studio 6
> ==================
>
> A number of compilers can be used here.
>
> compaq visual fortran
>
> get hold of a copy of norman lawrences book - A guide to creating
> windows applications.
>
> lahey - comes with wisk
>
> salford fortran - comes with clearwin
>
> Another option is to use visual basic 6 to
> visually develop the front end and call
> fortran dlls at the back end.
>
> i've done this using compaq visual fortran and vb 6.
> not too painful:-)
>
>
> 2. Visual Studio .net
> =====================
>
> salford fortran - clearwin+
>
> You can download a version for personal use.
> This would at least show you some of what it is capable of.
>
> lahey enterprise - from the information at the
> lahey site this appears to offer a visual
> development route, similar to visual basic.
>
> they offer a trial download. whether it is the full enterprise
> edition i couldn't tell from the details they provide.
>
> hope this helps.
>
> Cheers
>
> Ian Chivers
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Fortran 90 List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
> Michael E. Burke
> Sent: 14 October 2005 09:32
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Help mastering LF95
>
> I haven't used FORTRAN since the late 80's and I'm LOST! I'm looking for
> code snippets, examples and/or clear instructions on some simple tasks.
>
>
>
> I'm using LF95 and here's a list of the things I can't seem to get right:
>
>
>
> I can't seem to read a data file. The file is time-sequenced data for
> Fourier analysis, but right now I'd be happy to be able to read any data
> file, assign it to an array, and print it to the screen or console.
>
>
>
> I'd like to be able to plot the data.
>
>
>
> I'd like to be able to build a Windows input form with command buttons,
and
> generate a plot of the data, before and after transform. (I admit it: I've
> been spoiled by all the cool tools in Python and Visual Studio.)
>
>
>
> Basically, I'd like to see how to actually develop a cool program or two
in
> FORTRAN95. I'm embarrassed that I can't do this stuff. I did the same
tasks
> in Visual Basic, Java, and Visual C++ in less than half an hour each, but
> the customer needs this in FORTRAN95. (Engineering company with a lot of
> legacy software for me to convert.)
>
>
>
> Any suggestions on books or tutorials would be very helpful. I'm working
> through the Liverpool tutorial at this time, but it's slow slogging and
I'd
> really like to see some examples like I see on the Fortran Programmer's
Club
> site (although it looks like that site is getting commercial and less
> active, and it uses Compaq Visual FORTRAN, I believe).
>
>
>
> Thanks for any suggestions,
>
>
>
> Mike Burke
>
>
>
> "There are 10 kinds of people; those who understand binary and those who
> don't."
>
>
>
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