1 <!--===- docs/Extensions.md
3 Part of the LLVM Project, under the Apache License v2.0 with LLVM Exceptions.
4 See https://llvm.org/LICENSE.txt for license information.
5 SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0 WITH LLVM-exception
9 # Fortran Extensions supported by Flang
16 As a general principle, this compiler will accept by default and
17 without complaint many legacy features, extensions to the standard
18 language, and features that have been deleted from the standard,
19 so long as the recognition of those features would not cause a
20 standard-conforming program to be rejected or misinterpreted.
22 Other non-standard features, which do conflict with the current
23 standard specification of the Fortran programming language, are
24 accepted if enabled by command-line options.
26 ## Intentional violations of the standard
28 * Scalar `INTEGER` actual argument expressions (not variables!)
29 are converted to the kinds of scalar `INTEGER` dummy arguments
30 when the interface is explicit and the kinds differ.
31 This conversion allows the results of the intrinsics like
32 `SIZE` that (as mentioned below) may return non-default
33 `INTEGER` results by default to be passed. A warning is
34 emitted when truncation is possible. These conversions
35 are not applied in calls to non-intrinsic generic procedures.
36 * We are not strict on the contents of `BLOCK DATA` subprograms
37 so long as they contain no executable code, no internal subprograms,
38 and allocate no storage outside a named `COMMON` block. (C1415)
39 * Delimited list-directed (and NAMELIST) character output is required
40 to emit contiguous doubled instances of the delimiter character
41 when it appears in the output value. When fixed-size records
42 are being emitted, as is the case with internal output, this
43 is not possible when the problematic character falls on the last
44 position of a record. No two other Fortran compilers do the same
45 thing in this situation so there is no good precedent to follow.
46 Because it seems least wrong, we emit one copy of the delimiter as
47 the last character of the current record and another as the first
48 character of the next record. (The second-least-wrong alternative
49 might be to flag a runtime error, but that seems harsh since it's
50 not an explicit error in the standard, and the output may not have
51 to be usable later as input anyway.)
52 Consequently, the output is not suitable for use as list-directed or
53 NAMELIST input. If a later standard were to clarify this case, this
54 behavior will change as needed to conform.
56 character(11) :: buffer(3)
57 character(10) :: quotes = '""""""""""'
58 write(buffer,*,delim="QUOTE") quotes
59 print "('>',a10,'<')", buffer
62 * The name of the control variable in an implied DO loop in an array
63 constructor or DATA statement has a scope over the value-list only,
64 not the bounds of the implied DO loop. It is not advisable to use
65 an object of the same name as the index variable in a bounds
66 expression, but it will work, instead of being needlessly undefined.
67 * If both the `COUNT=` and the `COUNT_MAX=` optional arguments are
68 present on the same call to the intrinsic subroutine `SYSTEM_CLOCK`,
69 we require that their types have the same integer kind, since the
70 kind of these arguments is used to select the clock rate.
71 In common with some other compilers, the clock is in milliseconds
72 for kinds <= 4 and nanoseconds otherwise where the target system
75 ## Extensions, deletions, and legacy features supported by default
78 * `<>` as synonym for `.NE.` and `/=`
79 * `$` and `@` as legal characters in names
80 * Initialization in type declaration statements using `/values/`
81 * Kind specification with `*`, e.g. `REAL*4`
83 * Signed complex literal constants
84 * DEC `STRUCTURE`, `RECORD`, with '%FILL'; but `UNION`, and `MAP`
85 are not yet supported throughout compilation, and elicit a
86 "not yet implemented" message.
87 * Structure field access with `.field`
88 * `BYTE` as synonym for `INTEGER(KIND=1)`
89 * Quad precision REAL literals with `Q`
90 * `X` prefix/suffix as synonym for `Z` on hexadecimal literals
91 * `B`, `O`, `Z`, and `X` accepted as suffixes as well as prefixes
92 * Triplets allowed in array constructors
93 * `%LOC`, `%VAL`, and `%REF`
94 * Leading comma allowed before I/O item list
95 * Empty parentheses allowed in `PROGRAM P()`
96 * Missing parentheses allowed in `FUNCTION F`
97 * Cray based `POINTER(p,x)` and `LOC()` intrinsic (with `%LOC()` as
99 * Arithmetic `IF`. (Which branch should NaN take? Fall through?)
100 * `ASSIGN` statement, assigned `GO TO`, and assigned format
102 * Hollerith literals and edit descriptors
103 * `NAMELIST` allowed in the execution part
104 * Omitted colons on type declaration statements with attributes
105 * COMPLEX constructor expression, e.g. `(x+y,z)`
106 * `+` and `-` before all primary expressions, e.g. `x*-y`
107 * `.NOT. .NOT.` accepted
108 * `NAME=` as synonym for `FILE=`
109 * Data edit descriptors without width or other details
110 * `D` lines in fixed form as comments or debug code
111 * `CARRIAGECONTROL=` on the OPEN and INQUIRE statements
112 * `CONVERT=` on the OPEN and INQUIRE statements
113 * `DISPOSE=` on the OPEN and INQUIRE statements
114 * Leading semicolons are ignored before any statement that
116 * The character `&` in column 1 in fixed form source is a variant form
117 of continuation line.
118 * Character literals as elements of an array constructor without an explicit
119 type specifier need not have the same length; the longest literal determines
120 the length parameter of the implicit type, not the first.
121 * Outside a character literal, a comment after a continuation marker (&)
122 need not begin with a comment marker (!).
123 * Classic C-style /*comments*/ are skipped, so multi-language header
124 files are easier to write and use.
125 * $ and \ edit descriptors are supported in FORMAT to suppress newline
126 output on user prompts.
127 * Tabs in format strings (not `FORMAT` statements) are allowed on output.
128 * REAL and DOUBLE PRECISION variable and bounds in DO loops
129 * Integer literals without explicit kind specifiers that are out of range
130 for the default kind of INTEGER are assumed to have the least larger kind
131 that can hold them, if one exists.
132 * BOZ literals can be used as INTEGER values in contexts where the type is
133 unambiguous: the right hand sides of assigments and initializations
134 of INTEGER entities, as actual arguments to a few intrinsic functions
135 (ACHAR, BTEST, CHAR), and as actual arguments of references to
136 procedures with explicit interfaces whose corresponding dummy
137 argument has a numeric type to which the BOZ literal may be
138 converted. BOZ literals are interpreted as default INTEGER only
139 when they appear as the first items of array constructors with no
140 explicit type. Otherwise, they generally cannot be used if the type would
141 not be known (e.g., `IAND(X'1',X'2')`).
142 * BOZ literals can also be used as REAL values in some contexts where the
143 type is unambiguous, such as initializations of REAL parameters.
144 * EQUIVALENCE of numeric and character sequences (a ubiquitous extension)
145 * Values for whole anonymous parent components in structure constructors
146 (e.g., `EXTENDEDTYPE(PARENTTYPE(1,2,3))` rather than `EXTENDEDTYPE(1,2,3)`
147 or `EXTENDEDTYPE(PARENTTYPE=PARENTTYPE(1,2,3))`).
148 * Some intrinsic functions are specified in the standard as requiring the
149 same type and kind for their arguments (viz., ATAN with two arguments,
150 ATAN2, DIM, HYPOT, MAX, MIN, MOD, and MODULO);
151 we allow distinct types to be used, promoting
152 the arguments as if they were operands to an intrinsic `+` operator,
153 and defining the result type accordingly.
154 * DOUBLE COMPLEX intrinsics DREAL, DCMPLX, DCONJG, and DIMAG.
155 * The DFLOAT intrinsic function.
156 * INT_PTR_KIND intrinsic returns the kind of c_intptr_t.
157 * Restricted specific conversion intrinsics FLOAT, SNGL, IDINT, IFIX, DREAL,
158 and DCMPLX accept arguments of any kind instead of only the default kind or
159 double precision kind. Their result kinds remain as specified.
160 * Specific intrinsics AMAX0, AMAX1, AMIN0, AMIN1, DMAX1, DMIN1, MAX0, MAX1,
161 MIN0, and MIN1 accept more argument types than specified. They are replaced by
162 the related generics followed by conversions to the specified result types.
163 * When a scalar CHARACTER actual argument of the same kind is known to
164 have a length shorter than the associated dummy argument, it is extended
165 on the right with blanks, similar to assignment.
166 * When a dummy argument is `POINTER` or `ALLOCATABLE` and is `INTENT(IN)`, we
167 relax enforcement of some requirements on actual arguments that must otherwise
168 hold true for definable arguments.
169 * Assignment of `LOGICAL` to `INTEGER` and vice versa (but not other types) is
170 allowed. The values are normalized.
171 * Static initialization of `LOGICAL` with `INTEGER` is allowed in `DATA` statements
172 and object initializers.
173 The results are *not* normalized to canonical `.TRUE.`/`.FALSE.`.
174 Static initialization of `INTEGER` with `LOGICAL` is also permitted.
175 * An effectively empty source file (no program unit) is accepted and
176 produces an empty relocatable output file.
177 * A `RETURN` statement may appear in a main program.
178 * DATA statement initialization is allowed for procedure pointers outside
179 structure constructors.
180 * Nonstandard intrinsic functions: ISNAN, SIZEOF
181 * A forward reference to a default INTEGER scalar dummy argument is
182 permitted to appear in a specification expression, such as an array
183 bound, in a scope with IMPLICIT NONE(TYPE) if the name
184 of the dummy argument would have caused it to be implicitly typed
185 as default INTEGER if IMPLICIT NONE(TYPE) were absent.
186 * OPEN(ACCESS='APPEND') is interpreted as OPEN(POSITION='APPEND')
187 to ease porting from Sun Fortran.
188 * Intrinsic subroutines EXIT([status]) and ABORT()
189 * The definition of simple contiguity in 9.5.4 applies only to arrays;
190 we also treat scalars as being trivially contiguous, so that they
191 can be used in contexts like data targets in pointer assignments
192 with bounds remapping.
193 * We support some combinations of specific procedures in generic
194 interfaces that a strict reading of the standard would preclude
195 when their calls must nonetheless be distinguishable.
196 Specifically, `ALLOCATABLE` dummy arguments are distinguishing
197 if an actual argument acceptable to one could not be passed to
198 the other & vice versa because exactly one is polymorphic or
199 exactly one is unlimited polymorphic).
200 * External unit 0 is predefined and connected to the standard error output,
201 and defined as `ERROR_UNIT` in the intrinsic `ISO_FORTRAN_ENV` module.
202 * Objects in blank COMMON may be initialized.
203 * Multiple specifications of the SAVE attribute on the same object
204 are allowed, with a warning.
205 * Specific intrinsic functions BABS, IIABS, JIABS, KIABS, ZABS, and CDABS.
206 * A `POINTER` component's type need not be a sequence type when
207 the component appears in a derived type with `SEQUENCE`.
208 (This case should probably be an exception to constraint C740 in
210 * Format expressions that have type but are not character and not
211 integer scalars are accepted so long as they are simply contiguous.
212 This legacy extension supports pre-Fortran'77 usage in which
213 variables initialized in DATA statements with Hollerith literals
214 as modifiable formats.
215 * At runtime, `NAMELIST` input will skip over `NAMELIST` groups
216 with other names, and will treat text before and between groups
217 as if they were comment lines, even if not begun with `!`.
219 ### Extensions supported when enabled by options
221 * C-style backslash escape sequences in quoted CHARACTER literals
222 (but not Hollerith) [-fbackslash]
223 * Logical abbreviations `.T.`, `.F.`, `.N.`, `.A.`, `.O.`, and `.X.`
224 [-flogical-abbreviations]
225 * `.XOR.` as a synonym for `.NEQV.` [-fxor-operator]
226 * The default `INTEGER` type is required by the standard to occupy
227 the same amount of storage as the default `REAL` type. Default
228 `REAL` is of course 32-bit IEEE-754 floating-point today. This legacy
229 rule imposes an artificially small constraint in some cases
230 where Fortran mandates that something have the default `INTEGER`
231 type: specifically, the results of references to the intrinsic functions
232 `SIZE`, `STORAGE_SIZE`,`LBOUND`, `UBOUND`, `SHAPE`, and the location reductions
233 `FINDLOC`, `MAXLOC`, and `MINLOC` in the absence of an explicit
234 `KIND=` actual argument. We return `INTEGER(KIND=8)` by default in
235 these cases when the `-flarge-sizes` option is enabled.
236 `SIZEOF` and `C_SIZEOF` always return `INTEGER(KIND=8)`.
237 * Treat each specification-part like is has `IMPLICIT NONE`
238 [-fimplicit-none-type-always]
239 * Ignore occurrences of `IMPLICIT NONE` and `IMPLICIT NONE(TYPE)`
240 [-fimplicit-none-type-never]
241 * Old-style `PARAMETER pi=3.14` statement without parentheses
242 [-falternative-parameter-statement]
244 ### Extensions and legacy features deliberately not supported
246 * `.LG.` as synonym for `.NE.`
248 * Allocatable `COMMON`
249 * Expressions in formats
250 * `ACCEPT` as synonym for `READ *`
251 * `TYPE` as synonym for `PRINT`
252 * `ARRAY` as synonym for `DIMENSION`
253 * `VIRTUAL` as synonym for `DIMENSION`
254 * `ENCODE` and `DECODE` as synonyms for internal I/O
255 * `IMPLICIT AUTOMATIC`, `IMPLICIT STATIC`
256 * Default exponent of zero, e.g. `3.14159E`
257 * Characters in defined operators that are neither letters nor digits
258 * `B` suffix on unquoted octal constants
259 * `Z` prefix on unquoted hexadecimal constants (dangerous)
260 * `T` and `F` as abbreviations for `.TRUE.` and `.FALSE.` in DATA (PGI/XLF)
261 * Use of host FORMAT labels in internal subprograms (PGI-only feature)
262 * ALLOCATE(TYPE(derived)::...) as variant of correct ALLOCATE(derived::...) (PGI only)
263 * Defining an explicit interface for a subprogram within itself (PGI only)
264 * USE association of a procedure interface within that same procedure's definition
265 * NULL() as a structure constructor expression for an ALLOCATABLE component (PGI).
266 * Conversion of LOGICAL to INTEGER in expressions.
267 * IF (integer expression) THEN ... END IF (PGI/Intel)
268 * Comparsion of LOGICAL with ==/.EQ. rather than .EQV. (also .NEQV.) (PGI/Intel)
269 * Procedure pointers in COMMON blocks (PGI/Intel)
270 * Underindexing multi-dimensional arrays (e.g., A(1) rather than A(1,1)) (PGI only)
271 * Legacy PGI `NCHARACTER` type and `NC` Kanji character literals
272 * Using non-integer expressions for array bounds (e.g., REAL A(3.14159)) (PGI/Intel)
273 * Mixing INTEGER types as operands to bit intrinsics (e.g., IAND); only two
274 compilers support it, and they disagree on sign extension.
275 * Module & program names that conflict with an object inside the unit (PGI only).
276 * When the same name is brought into scope via USE association from
277 multiple modules, the name must refer to a generic interface; PGI
278 allows a name to be a procedure from one module and a generic interface
280 * Type parameter declarations must come first in a derived type definition;
281 some compilers allow them to follow `PRIVATE`, or be intermixed with the
282 component declarations.
283 * Wrong argument types in calls to specific intrinsics that have different names than the
284 related generics. Some accepted exceptions are listed above in the allowed extensions.
285 PGI, Intel, and XLF support this in ways that are not numerically equivalent.
286 PGI converts the arguments while Intel and XLF replace the specific by the related generic.
288 ## Preprocessing behavior
290 * The preprocessor is always run, whatever the filename extension may be.
291 * We respect Fortran comments in macro actual arguments (like GNU, Intel, NAG;
292 unlike PGI and XLF) on the principle that macro calls should be treated
293 like function references. Fortran's line continuation methods also work.
295 ## Standard features not silently accepted
297 * Fortran explicitly ignores type declaration statements when they
298 attempt to type the name of a generic intrinsic function (8.2 p3).
299 One can declare `CHARACTER::COS` and still get a real result
300 from `COS(3.14159)`, for example. f18 will complain when a
301 generic intrinsic function's inferred result type does not
302 match an explicit declaration. This message is a warning.
304 ## Standard features that might as well not be
306 * f18 supports designators with constant expressions, properly
307 constrained, as initial data targets for data pointers in
308 initializers of variable and component declarations and in
309 `DATA` statements; e.g., `REAL, POINTER :: P => T(1:10:2)`.
310 This Fortran 2008 feature might as well be viewed like an
311 extension; no other compiler that we've tested can handle
314 ## Behavior in cases where the standard is ambiguous or indefinite
316 * When an inner procedure of a subprogram uses the value or an attribute
317 of an undeclared name in a specification expression and that name does
318 not appear in the host, it is not clear in the standard whether that
319 name is an implicitly typed local variable of the inner procedure or a
320 host association with an implicitly typed local variable of the host.
326 ! Although "m" never appears in the specification or executable
327 ! parts of this subroutine, both of its contained subroutines
328 ! might be accessing it via host association.
329 integer, intent(in out) :: j
334 integer(kind(m)), intent(in) :: n
338 integer(kind(m)), intent(out) :: n
349 print *, k, " should be 3"
354 Other Fortran compilers disagree in their interpretations of this example;
355 some seem to treat the references to `m` as if they were host associations
356 to an implicitly typed variable (and print `3`), while others seem to
357 treat them as references to implicitly typed local variabless, and
358 load uninitialized values.
360 In f18, we chose to emit an error message for this case since the standard
361 is unclear, the usage is not portable, and the issue can be easily resolved
362 by adding a declaration.
364 * In subclause 7.5.6.2 of Fortran 2018 the standard defines a partial ordering
365 of the final subroutine calls for finalizable objects, their non-parent
366 components, and then their parent components.
367 (The object is finalized, then the non-parent components of each element,
368 and then the parent component.)
369 Some have argued that the standard permits an implementation
370 to finalize the parent component before finalizing an allocatable component in
371 the context of deallocation, and the next revision of the language may codify
373 In the interest of avoiding needless confusion, this compiler implements what
374 we believe to be the least surprising order of finalization.
375 Specifically: all non-parent components are finalized before
376 the parent, allocatable or not;
377 all finalization takes place before any deallocation;
378 and no object or subobject will be finalized more than once.
380 * When `RECL=` is set via the `OPEN` statement for a sequential formatted input
381 file, it functions as an effective maximum record length.
382 Longer records, if any, will appear as if they had been truncated to
383 the value of `RECL=`.
384 (Other compilers ignore `RECL=`, signal an error, or apply effective truncation
385 to some forms of input in this situation.)
386 For sequential formatted output, RECL= serves as a limit on record lengths
387 that raises an error when it is exceeded.