Calling c from fortran

The Unix portable Fortran-77 compiler ('f77') is written almost entirely in C. The second pass of the compiler is the same one used by the C compiler, and most 'f77' library routines are simply interfaces to corresponding C library routines. However, since Fortran does not support data structures like those used in C, you may not be able to take advantage of all the functionality that the 'curses' library offers. Manipulating windows with 'curses' is especially difficult. If you are interested in using routines involving data structures, you should probably use C instead of Fortran.

To call C routines from a Fortran program, you will have to write some C code. Fortran passes arguments by reference or address, so the C function has to be prepared to accept the variable as an address. This means that you will have to write functions in C that are called from Fortran that set up the arguments properly before calling the library function. Schematically, this might be something like:

Note underscore ( _ ) in name of routine.

In the C source file:

	foo_(bar)
	/* Note underscore */
	
	int *bar;	
	/* Note variables are passed by address */

	{
	 :
	}

In the Fortran source file:

	call foo(baz)	
	/* Assuming that "baz" is an integer. */
	{
	 :
	}

The underscore is important because Fortran uses the character to keep its symbols straight. If you are compiling on an RS6000 this is not default behavior, but compiling with the -qextname option on the RS6000 will cause it to perform identical to the other platforms.

Calling C From Fortran

Note the Fortran example below and how it calls C routines:

	call initscr()
	call clear()
	.
	.
	.
	call move(x, y)
	.
	.
	.
	call refresh()
	call endwin()
	end

...where x and y are integers specifying the new coordinates.

Calling Curses from Fortran

If you were calling the 'curses' routine 'move()', you might do something like this:

The C source file contains the interface routine to the 'curses' library function 'move()', along with the other C functions that provide an interface to the some other 'curses' functions:

	#include <curses.h>

	initscr_()
	{
	  initscr();
	}

	clear_()
	{
	  clear();
	}

	move_(x, y)
	int *x, *y;		/* These are pointers  */
	{
	  move(*x, *y);
	}

	refresh_()
	{
	  refresh();
	}

	endwin_()
	{
	  endwin();
	}

The routines are compiled by using these commands:

	cc -c curses.c
	f77 test.f curses.o -lcurses -ltermcap

If you are using macros defined in /usr/include/curses.h in your Fortran file, be warned that they assume conventions of the C language. Be aware that this may affect the results you obtain when using them in Fortran.