Simply Fortran 2.38 Available

Approximatrix is happy to announce the release of Simply Fortran 2.38 for Microsoft Windows, Apple macOS, and GNU/Linux platforms. This release introduces significant speed improvements for the integrated development environment, user-requested feature additions, and bug fixes improving stability on all platforms.

The integrated development environment received three major feature additions for this release. First, the file indexing system, which is used for calculating Fortran dependencies, locating procedures and variables, and providing autocomplete suggestions, now operates using multiple threads. On a system with four processors, for example, the indexing system will now analyze four files simultaneously, greatly accelerating the process.

Second, the integrated development environment now saves tab positions along with projects if enabled. As a user-requested enhancement, this feature has finally arrived in version 2.38. Furthermore, the Build Status and Console tabs will now, by default, open in a separate panel from editor tabs, behaving similar to other development environments. Both features can be enabled and disabled in the Options menu (or the Preferences menu on macOS).

Third, the development environment now contains a feature that should detect the presence of fixed-format Fortran in a file with an extension implying more modern free-format Fortran. When the compiler fails and certain known errors are emitted, Simply Fortran will alert the user and optionally rename the file properly. This feature was added to combat the confusing errors emitted when new users are trying Simply Fortran.

Simply Fortran for Windows contains updated manuals for the Fortran and C compilers as well as the OpenMP API. Recent releases of Simply Fortran featured quite dated compiler manuals, and the situation is now resolved. The AppGraphics library received a bug fix for List Boxes and their callbacks, which were not working properly in prior releases.

Simply Fortran for GNU/Linux and macOS now behave more similar to the Windows version when resizing the main window, proportionally resizing separate tab panels within the window rather than leaving them stationary. File dialogs on both versions now properly suggest and use file extensions when opening and saving files. Single file builds, usually created by selecting "Build and Run Current File," no longer generate executables with a ".exe" extension on either macOS or GNU/Linux.

Simply Fortran on all platforms received a major bug fix where CPU usage could remain high when a directory that should contain project files is missing. This user-reported bug can occur in specific circumstances, but it is not uncommon. The bug was present on all platforms. Additionally, Simply Fortran for macOS now implements proper file system monitoring, which was already present in Windows and GNU/Linux versions, significantly decreasing CPU usage on Macs. Another bug related to single file builds causing corruption of the internal file database has been corrected on all platforms.

The latest version is now available from the Download page. Users are encouraged to purchase a license for Simply Fortran if they find this suite of development tools useful on any of our three supported platforms.