• Simply Fortran Documentation
  • Getting Started

    The Simply Fortran Integrated Development Environment (IDE) is simple for new users to understand. Simply Fortran operates using a project-centric paradigm. All development is driven by the user’s project. The following sections describe how to quickly build a simple Fortran executable from an empty project.

    Creating a New Project

    When Simply Fortran initially starts, the user will be presented with the Welcome screen, as shown below:

    Welcome Screen

    The panel offers a quick route to getting started, including empty projects, some sample project types, and a list of any recent projects opened with Simply Fortran.

    If a new project is selected via this page, Simply Fortran will ask for a location to save the project file, then close the dialog, presenting the user with the Simply Fortran interface.

    Adding a File

    An overall view of the IDE is available from the interface section. After starting the IDE, the user is presented with an empty project in the project pane . Depending on the registration status, the editor section may either be blank or contain a registration notification.

    To get started with compiling Fortran code, at least one file must first be added to the project. From the project pane , right-click on the Project folder and select Add File(s)…. Using the file selection dialog, the user can either select an existing file or navigate to an appropriate directory and type a new file’s name into the dialog. After selecting Ok, the new file should appear in the project panel.

    Opening a File in the Project

    To open a file located in the project tree, the file can simply be double-clicked. A new editor tab should appear containing the contents of the file. If the file is nonexistent (or new), the editor will be blank. The file can be edited, and changes must be saved either using the File menu or the Control-S hotkey.

    For this example, it may be interesting to implement a simple “Hello World” program in the newly added file for demonstration purposes.

    Configuring the Project

    Simply Fortran supports three basic project types: executables, static libraries, and shared libraries. The default type is executable, meaning the end result should be a valid Fortran program named Project.exe. To modify the project type or the executable target name, the Project Options must be configured.

    The Project Options dialog can be opened either from the Options menu or from the Options… item in the menu when the project panel is right-clicked. While most of the default options are probably sufficient, a change to the Target Name is most likely desirable even for this simple example.

    Saving the Project

    Before any compilation can be performed, the project must first be saved. Selecting an appropriate location to save the project becomes important for two reasons: the build process will generate subdirectories in the location where the project is saved and the project files are referenced relative to this location. The cleanest way to handle this situation is to save each project and its associated source code files into a folder specific to the project.

    To save the project, the user can either select Save Project from the File menu or select the similar item in the File submenu of the project panel’s right-click menu. Navigate to the desired project folder and enter an appropriate filename to save the project.

    Compiling

    Once the project has been saved, this simple project can now be compiled. Compilation can be achieved either by selecting Build Now! from the Build menu or clicking the small gear button on the toolbar. Either method should result in a Build Window opening in the editor. In the case that any errors are encountered during compilation, the error messages should appear in the window. If compilation is successful, the program should be ready to launch.

    Launching the Result

    After successful compilation, the user-created program can be launch from the IDE either via the Launch! item in the Build menu or the green triangle button, signifying “play,” on the toolbar. If compilation was successful, a window should open immediately with the running program.