NIST-Developed Fortran Graphics Standard Commercialized
July 2000
f90gl, the NIST-developed Fortran interface for OpenGL graphics,
is now emerging in commercial products. Lahey Computer Systems Inc.
is including precompiled f90gl libraries with their LF95 Fortran
compilers, and Interactive Software Services Ltd. has included f90gl
in their Winteracter graphics product. Several other compiler vendors
feature f90gl prominently on their web pages, and plan to include f90gl
in future releases of their Fortran compilers.
OpenGL is a standard 3D graphics library available on nearly all current
computer systems. f90gl, developed in ITL's Mathematical and Computational
Sciences Division , is a public domain implementation of the Fortran 90
bindings for OpenGL, which were also developed in MCSD and adopted by the
OpenGL Architecture Review Board. f90gl runs on most Unix and Windows
computers.
Although the source code for f90gl has been placed in the public domain,
many compiler vendors have found that their customers prefer the convenience
of precompiled libraries. Consequently, Lahey placed precompiled f90gl
libraries on their web site, and began including them as part of their
compiler product in a subsequent release. Compaq, makers of the popular CVF
Fortran compiler for Windows, has also placed precompiled f90gl libraries on
their web site for the convenience of their customers, and may add them to a
future release. Other compiler vendors that feature f90gl on their web pages
or have inquired about adding f90gl to their product include Absoft Corp.,
N.A.Software Ltd., and The Portland Group.
Compiler vendors are not the only companies to find that f90gl can enhance
their products. Interactive Software Services found a use for f90gl in
Winteracter, their user-interface and graphics toolkit for Fortran. When
ISS added OpenGL capabilities to Winteracter, they found the most
cost-effective approach was to begin with the f90gl source code and
modify it to fit into their product. According to Lawson Wakefield of ISS,
"In getting OpenGL access in our Winteracter library, f90gl represented an
important stepping stone."
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