Programs for Programmers

 Syntax coloring

Syntax coloring provides the ability to differentiate code elements based on color. For example, a keyword may appear in blue, comments may appear in green, while character strings might be maroon. The Fortran language allows variables and procedures to have the same names as keywords, and this can pose a problem for colorizers that do not have a strong parsing ability. Since the parser used in the Lahey colorizer is derived from a Fortran compiler, it is unlikely that is would be confused by an identifier with the same name as a keyword. The integration package allows the user to customize the colorizing scheme.

Expandable code

Expandable code can make the chore of navigating through sections of code easier by allowing you to collapse a region of code into a single line. This feature works at the module and procedure levels by default, but the user has the ability to add new outlining regions, or to remove existing outlining regions.



A portion of the collapsed code can be viewed by hovering the mouse over the box containing the "...":

Method tips for intrinsic functions

Parameter Info is a feature that helps the user write code by displaying information about intrinsic procedures as the user is typing. Parameter Info is currently implemented for all Fortran 95 intrinsic procedures, and Lahey extensions supported by LF95.
As a procedure invocation is typed, the open parenthesis character triggers the Parameter Info tooltip for the first argument:



As typing continues, each succeeding comma character that is typed will trigger a tooltip for the next parameter:



When a close parenthesis character is typed, the tooltip window is dismissed. The tooltip window is also dismissed whenever the cursor is moved outside of the area of the argument list.

Quick info for local and global variables

Quick Info provides the user with information about variables and intrinsic procedures by displaying an informational tooltip window when the mouse is hovered over a name. Quick Info is currently implemented for all Fortran 95 intrinsic procedures, Lahey extensions supported by LF95, and variables that are defined within the same file.

Block commenting and indenting

Block commenting is a feature that allows the user to quickly comment or uncomment selected blocks of code. Block indenting allows the user to change the indentation of a selected block of code. Both of these features work for code that is highlighted. If any portion of a line is highlighted, the feature works on the entire line. If there is no highlighted code, commenting or indenting will work on the single line where the cursor resides.

Brace matching

Parenthesis matching is a feature that locates a matching parenthesis and highlights the parenthesis pair. This feature can be quite useful when examining a complex statement. The following diagram shows a single multiline code statement with the matching braces highlighted with a light gray box:

Block Reformatting

Block Reformatting is a free-format source code feature that allows the user to quickly reformat the current line, selected blocks of code, or the entire document. Reformatting is done by optionally highlighting a section of code, then choosing the Edit|Advanced|Reformat Selection menu option. You may select Format Document instead of Format Selection, and the entire document will be reformatted regardless of selection area. If any portion of a line is highlighted, the feature works on the entire line. If there is no highlighted code, the single line where the cursor resides will be reformatted.

A section of code before reformatting:

img title="Lahey Fortran Visual Studio 2010 block reformatting" src="/web_images//lahey/F95VS2010LFReformatBefore.jpg" alt="Lahey Fortran Visual Studio 2010 block reformatting" width="528" height="529" />

And after:

Code Completion

Code Completion is a source code editor feature that assists rapid development by offering an alphabetical list of possible keywords, names, and code snippets that might be entered as code is typed into the editor. The list display is triggered by typing an alphabetic character at the beginning of a line, after whitespace, or after any symbol.

If another character is typed, the list will be reduced to only those items that begin with that text.

Code Snippets

Code Snippets are a source code editor feature that assists rapid development by allowing pre-defined blocks of code to be easily inserted into the editor. Snippets are normally code that is often entered, such as IF constructs, FUNCTION definitions, and header comment blocks. Code Snippets can be inserted by selecting from the Code Completion list (press Tab after selecting), or by right-clicking and selecting "Insert Snippet...". When a Snippet is first inserted, the snippet-entry mode is activated. The names that are normally changed by the author will be highlighted fields. When the cursor is in a field, that field's text can be changed. Press Tab to move to the next field. Press Enter when finished changing the fields, thereby terminating snippet-entry mode. It is possible for a Code Snippet to have no fields and not activate the snippet-entry mode.

Collapsible Regions

User-defined Collapsible Regions can make the chore of navigating through sections of source code easier by allowing you to collapse a region of code into a single line. The Fortran compiler treats these lines as comments. The region can then be collapsed by clicking on the minus symbol in the margin next to the !#region line. To expand the region, click the plus symbol in the margin.

And collapsed:

Find All References

Find All References is a feature that allows the user to display a list of all known references to a name within all of the source code in the Solution. It works in both the source code editor window, Class View and Object Browser. Right-click on a name in a Fortran code editor window to display a list of all known references to that name within the scope of the current cursor position. Right-clicking on anything other than a name will have no effect. Right-click on a item in the Member pane of Class View or Object Browser to display a list of all known references to that name within the Solution. The list will be displayed in the Find Symbol Results window. Double-click on a line in the list to open the source code file and jump to the position of that reference.

Go To Declaration

Go To Declaration is a feature that allows you to jump to the declaration of a variable or procedure. This can be done by placing the mouse over the name you want to see the declaration for, right clicking and selecting "Go To Declaration" from the floating menu.

The edit cursor will then jump to the line that contains the declaration for the name:

Navigation Bars

Use the drop-down navigation bars above a Fortran code editor window to view or jump to a module or procedure definition within the code. The navigation bar on the left contains the Main Program and Modules defined in the source code file. Note that if a file contains subprogram(s) and no Main Program, "(MAIN)" will be displayed as a placeholder for the Main Program. The navigation bar on the right contains procedures defined in the source code file. Dimmed procedure names are out of scope for the current cursor position, but can still be selected.

Smart Indenting

Smart Indenting is a free-format source code feature that allows the editor to indent the last line entered (terminated by the Enter key) as appropriate in relation to the previous line or the beginning statement of a code block. A code block consists of any statement that has a corresponding END statement.

Building Projects and Viewing Errors

To build a Fortran project, select the "Build Solution" or "Rebuild Solution" option from the Build pull down menu. Alternatively, you can right-click on the project name in the Solution Explorer and select "Build" or "Rebuild" from the context menu that appears. The Error List window shows any build errors that occurred. Double-click on a message in the list to open the source code file and jump to the position where the error occurred. The current source code editor window will mark the location of build errors with a squiggly underline. Positioning the mouse pointer over the location of those markers will display the error in a Quick Tip.

Integrated Debugger

Beginning with Visual Studio 2010, Fortran programs are debugged using Visual Studio, which hosts the FDB command line debugger. The LF95 Fortran integration package uses Visual Studio debugging interfaces to host the FDB command line debugger. This allows you to debug your Fortran program using the Visual Studio Debug menu. While debugging, you can watch the values of variables change during program execution and set breakpoints with a mouse click. Using the VS debugging interface, you can run your program, set breakpoints, step a line at a time, view the values of variables in your program in several different ways, change the values of variables, and examine stack frames while running your program. The current executable line and any breakpoints are indicated with markers in the left margin of the source code display. If needed, the program will be rebuilt, the debugger will be started and the program will begin execution. When the program breaks execution, the execution pointer is displayed at the corresponding location in source code.

To watch a variable within the scope of the current procedure, open the Debug menu and select "QuickWatch". A dialog will appear that allows you to type the name of the variable you want to watch. If the name matches a valid variable in the program, it will be added to the watch list. To view a watch window, open the Debug menu and expand the "Windows" item. Select "Watch" from the "Windows" sub menu.

While debugging, variable values are added to the intellisense "Quick Info" display, which allows values to be examined by hovering the mouse over the variable in question.

Class View and Object Browser

Class View displays the entity names defined in the application you are developing. You can open Class View from the View menu. There are two panes: an upper Objects pane and a lower Members pane. The Objects pane contains an expandable tree of names whose top-level nodes represent Projects. Expand a Project name in the Objects pane to list the Main Program and/or Modules defined within it. Variables, constants, procedures, TYPEs, INTERFACEs, and USEs for the selected Object are listed in the Members pane. Note that if a project contains subprogram(s) and no Main Program definition, a placeholder for the Main Program named "(MAIN)" will appear in the Objects pane. Right-click on an item in the Members pane to find all references of that name or to open files and navigate directly to the line where that name is defined.

The Object Browser is similar to Class View but shows more information. It also displays the names defined in the application you are developing. You can open Object Browser from the View menu. There are three panes: an Objects pane on the left, a Members pane on the upper right, and a Description pane on the lower right. If you resize the Object Browser into a single column, the Objects pane moves to the top, the Members pane to the middle, and the Description pane to the bottom. The Objects pane contains an expandable tree of names whose top-level nodes represent Projects. Expand a Project name in the Objects pane to list the Main Program and/or Modules defined within it. Variables, constants, procedures, TYPEs, INTERFACEs, and USEs for the selected Object are listed in the Members pane. Details on the item selected in the Objects pane or Members pane appear in the Description pane. Note that if a project contains subprogram(s) and no Main Program definition, a placeholder for the Main Program named "(MAIN)" will appear in the Objects pane. Right-click on an item in the Members pane to find all references to that name or to open files, and navigate directly to the line where the name is defined. You can also click on a USEd module name in the Description pane to jump to that member in Object Browser.

Automation support

Automation is the ability to control Visual Studio, solutions and projects with software. It allows the user to programmatically control project creation and modification, to set project and file compilation options, and to build and execute projects.

MSBuild support

MSBuild is Microsoft's XML-based build system. It is integrated with Visual Studio, but it can also be used on the command line. The LF95 Project facility uses MSbuild when building projects. For a comprehensive description of MSBuild, see the MSDN documentation for msbuild.exe.

Visual SourceSafe support

The Fortran integration package supports the Visual SourceSafe VCS. From Visual Studio 2008, the user with Visual SourceSafe installed will be able to easily place entire Fortran solutions under version control. The user can check Fortran files and projects in and out with Visual Studio. Note that because the Fortran project system modifies the project file in order to update dependency information, it is necessary to check out the project file before building the project.

 Fortran-Smart Windows Debugger

Other Development Tools

Winteracter Starter Kit.

Use the Winteracter Starter Kit - WiSK - to create GUI-based Fortran programs, using standard Windows controls. WiSK is a subset of the Winteracter toolset created by Interactive Software Services, Ltd. (available from Polyhedron). Winteracter is a Fortran 95-callable,   user-interface and graphics development kit with versions available for Windows, Linux and MacOS X. Derived from Winteracter, WiSK provides a library of subroutines to manage user interface components such as windows, menus, dialogs, mouse and keyboard. Menus and dialogs are designed/maintained using the supplied visual resource editor, ResEdit. A manifest creation tool enables use of the latest visual styles on Windows XP onwards. A set of graphics primitives are also included in the WiSK library, along with source code for an emulation of the earlier Lahey Video Graphics Library. WiSK is completed by the Application Wizard, which provides a jump start when producing new GUI based applications.