Fortran only provides one type of container: array. While Fortran arrays are exemplary for their intended purpose such as numerical algorinthms, they are poorly suited in many other contexts. Arrays can be thought of as a particular case of a "container" that holds multiple entities. As a container, arrays are well suited for random access to a fixed number of objects. (Yes, Fortran arrays are technically dynamic, but "growing" an array involves multiple steps.)
Many other languages provide additional types of containers that commonly arise in many contexts. E.g., a vector (C++ STL) or List (Java) are growable containers of objects that automatically resize when required to add a new object. Another example is that of Map which allows stores objects as key-value pairs, thereby allowing retrieval of an object by providing it's key.
This package, gFTL, provides a mechanism to easily create robust containers and associated iterators which can be used within Fortran applications. The primary methods are intended to be as close to their C++ STL analogs as possible. We have found that these containers are a powerful productivity multiplier for certain types of software development, and hope that others find them to be just as useful.
Currently, the following three types of containers are provided.
- Vector (list)
- Set
- Map (associated array)
Contributions of additional containers are very much welcomed.
- Tom Clune
- Doron Feldman
It is worth noting that there is a similar package FTL which may be of interest. gFTL was developed independently of FTL, but was not open-sourced in time to claim the cooler name.
I expect this section to grow a bit more after the authors of the two packages have had time to discuss. It is highly desired that this section be factually correct.
- Both packages use the preprocessor that is built-in to essentially all modern Fortran compilers.
- Naming conventions for gFTL are much closer to C++ STL.
If you have any questions, please contact:
- Tom Clune (Tom.Clune@nasa.gov)