Fortran M is a small set of extensions to Fortran that supports a modular approach to the construction of sequential and parallel programs. Fortran M programs use channels to plug together processes which may be written in Fortran M or Fortran 77. Processes communicate by sending and receiving messages on channels. Channels and processes can be created dynamically, but programs remain deterministic unless specialized nondeterministic constructs are used. Fortran M programs can execute on a range of sequential, parallel, and networked computers. This report incorporates both a tutorial introduction to Fortran M and a users guide for the Fortran M compiler developed at Argonne National Laboratory. The Fortran M compiler, supporting software, and documentation are made available free of charge by Argonne National Laboratory, but are protected by a copyright which places certain restrictions on how they may be redistributed. See the software for details. The latest version of both the compiler and this manual can be obtained by anonymous ftp from Argonne National Laboratory in the directory pub/fortran-m at info.mcs.anl.gov.

This document defines the Fortran M extensions to Fortran 77. It updates an earlier definition, dated June 1992, in several minor respects.

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