Fortran is the first language I learned as part of my engineering studies and remains one of my favourites even today. I continue to be impressed by Fortran's speed of execution, and it couples nicely with my Tcl/Tk applications thanks to Ftcl.

I own several Fortran compilers / IDE's including:

• SilverFrost - Free or a small fee to remove the nagging,
• Lahey/GNU Fortran - Rainier Edition Windows 32 & 64-bit $$'s,
• GNU Fortran - FREE,
• Simply Fortran $'s,
• CodeBlocks IDE for Fortran - FREE
• Absoft Fortran compiler. The price of admission is worth the investment.
• NVIDIA HPC SDK Current Release Downloads - Linux (x86_64, OpenPOWER, Arm Server), Windows x64 (The NVIDIA HPC SDK for Windows will be available at a later date.)

The GNU Fortran and Codeblocks IDE are available free of charge. Intel offers a Fortran IDE/Compiler environment, and the price of admission is steep as it is also the most expensive package.

GNU Fortran (gfortran) is an open-source compiler that is more than sufficient for those wanting to get started. I use the [Absoft Fortran IDE/compiler](Absoft Fortran) for my applications.

Combining Fortran and Tcl/Tk

You may be surprised to learn that many applications rely on the speed of execution of other libraries written using languages such as Fortran and C. Thanks to Ftcl, we can combine Fortran and Tcl/Tk. Visit Ftcl: Using Tcl in Fortran programs and vice versa to learn more.

Related Articles

Mixed language programming Tcl/Tk and Fortran (Windows)

Using DISLIN to make a GUI for a Fortran Program

Further Learning

For those wanting to learn more about Fortran, Derek Banas presents a fast-paced Fortran tutorial that demonstrates many Fortran commands and functions. As stated by Derek, the video covers the equivalent of a 300-page book.

Modern Fortran: Building efficient parallel applications 1st Edition, Kindle Edition, by Milan Curcic. ISBN-13: 978-1617295287, ISBN-10: 1617295280

Modern Fortran in Practice 1st Edition by Arjen Markus, Cambridge University Press, 2012. ISBN-13: 978-1107017900.

Fortran for Scientists and Engineers - Fourth Edition by Stephen J. Chapman, McGraw Hill Education, 1024 pages, ISBN: 978-0-07-338589-1.

The Fortran 2003 Handbook - The Complete Syntax, Features and Procedures, by Jeanne C. Adams, Walter S. Brainerd, Richard A. Hendrickson, Richard E. Maine, Jeanne T. Martin, Brian T. Smith, Published by Springer Science+Business Media, 712 pages, ISBN: 978-1-4471-5942