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[UDUNITS #RMA-244527]: Fortran 95 Interface for UDUNITS-2 Package

Craig,

> UDUNITS Tech Support
> UCAR Office of Programs
> Unidata Program Center
> UCAR Foothills Lab 4, Rooms 1305-1342
> 3300 Mitchell Lane
> P. O. Box 3000
> Boulder, CO   80307-3000
> 
> Dear Sir or Madam:

Call me Steve.

> I am interested in helping to create a Fortran 95 interface for
> your UDUNITS-2 package.

Excellent!

> This afternoon I downloaded the install packages for the UDUNITS
> version 1.12 and 2.0 packages from your web site.  I noticed on the
> UDUNITS-2 web page you state, "No Fortran or Perl API.  Interfaces for these
> languages have not yet been created.  Contact
> address@hidden if you are interested in helping to create
> these interfaces."
> 
> 
> 
> I believe that I have the necessary technical expertise for this
> project.
> 
> I am a Fortran expert.  I have used Fortran professionally for over 30
> years, since the mid-1970s.

Wow!  You must be old.  :-)  My first Fortran programming job was in
1969 -- and I'm old.

> I served for 10 years on the ANSI / ISO J3
> Fortran Standards Technical Committee, from 1994 - 2003.  I am very
> familiar with ISO standard Fortran 95, with most extensions to ISO
> standard Fortran, and with ISO standard Fortran 2003.  I have done paid
> Fortran consulting work professionally in for-profit firms.  I have
> written applications in Fortran in many different application areas
> including engineering, financial analysis, and manufacturing.

Sounds very good.

> I am very familiar with C.  I have used C professionally in for-profit
> firms for over 10 years.  Many of these applications have included
> embedded SQL.  Application areas include warehousing, financial
> analysis, and manufacturing.

SQL shouldn't be an issue.

The main issue, as I see it, is how to create the interface between
Fortran and C so that Fortran routines can call the C functions in
the UDUNITS-2 library.  The way this was done before (in the original
UDUNITS package) was to use the "cfortran.h" package to create the
interface the two languages.  This worked OK.

What are your thoughts on the matter?

> The only difficulty that I can see is that I am not very familiar with
> Unix shell scripting or software development under Unix operating
> systems.  I have done almost all of my personal and professional work
> under OpenVMS and Windows.

Hmm...  I intend to release a Fortran interface to the UDUNITS-2 library
as a separate package rather than bundle it in as was done before -- so
your inexperience with UNIX might not be too big a hurdle because I
should be able to decorate the package with the stuff necessary to 
turn it into a UNIX-compatible package.

> This brings up a related issue.  Would you like to create versions of
> UDUNITS-2 for either or both of the OpenVMS and Windows operating
> systems?

If somebody wants to do that, that's fine with me (just as long as I
don't have to :-).  It should just be a matter of adding stuff to the
package to make it build in the relevant environment.  Let me know if
I'm wrong.

...

> Sincerely,
> 
> Craig Dedo
> 
> 17130 W. Burleigh Place
> P. O. Box 423                       Voice Phone:  (262) 783-5869
> Brookfield, WI   53008-0423  Fax Phone:  (262) 783-5928
> USA                                     Mobile Phone:  (414) 412-5869
> 
> <mailto:address@hidden> address@hidden>
Regards,
Steve Emmerson

Ticket Details
===================
Ticket ID: RMA-244527
Department: Support UDUNITS
Priority: Normal
Status: On Hold