FORTRAN compilers

[Jeff Candy]

Bill Dorland wrote:

> I've tested three Fortran 90 compilers in this basic environment, on a
> suite of scientific codes.  They are the Portland Group's f90, NAG
> f95, and Lahey/Fujitsu's lf95.  I also tried the Portland Group HPF
> compiler.
> 
> I have found the Portland Group products to be heavily bug-ridden, and
> essentially unusable by a group of scientists that are actively
> developing code that uses Fortran 90 (or HPF) features.  Moreover,
> carefully constructed bug reports submitted to the company failed to
> stir them.  I strongly advise avoiding this company.  My colleagues at
> an American national laboratory independently came to the same
> conclusions, based on their problems with the PG products.
> 
> The other two compilers, on the other hand, are both very good.  My
> colleagues and I are fully satisfied with the performance and
> compatibility with the Fortran 90/95 standards of both.  I expect that
> either would perform well for you.

I have grown increasingly more unhappy with The Portland Group 
and its compilers over the last year.  In comparison with the 
Lahey/Fujitsu product (lf95), for example, quality of syntax and 
run-time error-checking is worse.  License management is more tedious.  
Code generated with pgf90 tends to be slightly faster, but not by 
any amount that would recommend its use.  I believe an average user 
will produce bug-free code faster with lf95 than pgf90.  

Jeff