STEINBERGER@SRI-KL.ARPA (Richard Steinberger) (11/06/86)
I have an application were the f$element function would exactly fit the bill. (This DCL LEX function parses strings and gives you back the element you request.) However, I need to use such a function from within a Fortran program. Alas, there is no LIB$ELEMENT call, and LIB$TPARSE seems in- credibly complicated. What I currently do is parse the string using various LIB$ and STR$ calls, but it takes several of these as well as some error checking, etc. to do what a single f$element type call might do. Someone suggested using LIB$SPAWN to run the F$ELEMENT call, but is is unclear how arguments can be passed to and from the calling program; also spawning is said to be a burden on a uVAX. Has anyone encountered this situation before? Any suggestions? Thanks in advance. -Ric Steinberger STEINBERGER@SRI-KL.ARPA.#INTERNET -------
LEICHTER-JERRY@YALE.ARPA (11/07/86)
I have an application were the f$element function would exactly fit the
bill. However, I need to use such a function from within a Fortran
program. Alas, there is no LIB$ELEMENT call.... Someone suggested using
LIB$SPAWN to run the F$ELEMENT call, but is is unclear how arguments can
be passed to and from the calling program; also spawning is said to be a
burden on a uVAX....
Spawning a subprocess to use F$ELEMENT is killing flies with an elephant
gun. F$ELEMENT is a pretty trivial function - it should amount to a couple
of lines of code in any language at all comfortable with strings. In portable
FORTRAN IV, it might be a little tough, but in any recent FORTRAN?
Why not write it once as a callable function in whatever language you are most
comfortable with, and be done with it?
-- Jerry
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