FIX: Concatenation in Parentheses Produces Blank Output

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft FORTRAN PowerStation for MS-DOS, version 1.0

SYMPTOMS

Concatenation in assignment statements fail when the character expression is surrounded by parentheses. The result is a blank string.

RESOLUTION

Because parentheses have no affect on the results of expressions involving concatenation, do not use parentheses when performing string concatenation.

STATUS

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

MORE INFORMATION

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.

To reproduce the problem create a program using the sample code When run, the sample code below displays the following:

   <cat dogs> <        >

Sample Code

Compile options: None

      character a*4,b*4,c*8,d*8
      a = "cat"
      b = "dogs"
      c = a//b
      d = (a//b)
      print *, "<",c,">  <",d,">"
      end