Ftnchek

Fortran 77 semantic checking utility

ftnchek short for Fortran checker is designed to detect certain errors in a Fortran 77 program that a compiler usually does not. ftnchek is not primarily intended to detect syntax errors. Its purpose is to assist the user in finding semantic errors. Semantic errors are legal in the Fortran 77 language but are wasteful or may cause incorrect operation. For example, variables which are never used may indicate some omission in the program; uninitialized variables contain garbage which may cause incorrect results to be calculated; and variables which are not declared may not have the intended type. ftnchek is intended to assist users in the debugging of their Fortran 77 program. It is not intended to catch all syntax errors. This is the function of the compiler. Prior to using ftnchek, the user should verify that the program compiles correctly.