FIX: String Comparison Stops at Char(0) (NUL)

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft FORTRAN PowerStation for MS DOS, version 1.0

SYMPTOMS

The string comparison operators stop the comparison operation at the occurrence of the first NUL character. The rest of the string after the first NUL character is not compared.

RESOLUTION

Use the string termination character only at the end of the string.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in FORTRAN PowerStation for MS-DOS, version 1.0. This problem has been resolved with FORTRAN PowerStation maintenance release version 1.0a for MS-DOS.

FORTRAN PowerStation version 1.0 can be differentiated from the maintenance release version 1.0a by invoking the linker. Typing "link32 | more" from \F32\BIN directory will show version 2.8 for FORTRAN PowerStation version 1.0, and it will show version 1.0f for the maintenance release version 1.0a.

MORE INFORMATION

The string comparison operation works correctly in Microsoft FORTRAN version 5.1. Compiling and executing the following code with PowerStation will demonstrate the problem.

Sample Code

C No compiler options required

       character*10 a,b

       a = "1234567890"
       b = "123456789A"

       a(5:5) = char(0)
       b(5:5) = char(0)

       print *, "Should be: F T T T F F"
       print "(' Result:   ',L2,\)", ( a .eq. b )
       print '(L2,\)', ( a .ne. b )
       print '(L2,\)', ( a .lt. b )
       print '(L2,\)', ( b .gt. a )
       print '(L2,\)', ( b .le. a )
       print '(L2)', ( a .ge. b )

       end