Additional considerations

The only other important issue to consider when compiling Fortran-f90VB subroutines with the Absoft compiler is the way the compiler handles initialization of variables. By default, Absoft Pro Fortran does not initialize declared variables. This can become a problem when using f90VB handles (for example BString and Safe Array handles), because many f90VB procedures rely on the content of the handle to determine whether the string or the array has been allocated. Un-initialized handles can have spurious values, which would be interpreted as addresses of allocated BStrings or Safe Arrays. The initialization problem can be approached in two ways:

Explicitly initialize to zero all declared Bstring and Safe Array handles.

Use the –s compiler switch, which forces the compiler to treat internal variables as static and initialized to zero.

The approach you follow would depend on the characteristics and requirements of your subroutines. For simplicity, we generally use the second approach.