Fortran

Fortran is a <a href="/facts/Third-generation_programming_language/v6N8rpno">third-generation</a>, <a href="/facts/Compiled_language/WRqIRjFx">compiled</a>, <a href="/facts/Imperative_programming/6b5dUnE1">imperative</a> <a href="/facts/Programming_language/cWTYbgWa">programming language</a> that is especially suited to <a href="/facts/Numerical_analysis/QT9cYa9z">numeric computation</a> and <a href="/facts/Computational_science/PnVD19hw">scientific computing</a>.
Fortran was originally developed by <a href="/facts/IBM/QszA7nwd">IBM</a> with a reference manual being released in 1956; however, the first compilers only began to produce accurate code two years later. Fortran <a href="/facts/Computer_program/e38jH9N9">computer programs</a> have been written to support scientific and engineering applications, such as <a href="/facts/Numerical_weather_prediction/TXdbEfE4">numerical weather prediction</a>, <a href="/facts/Finite_element_method/eUcfP1vn">finite element analysis</a>, <a href="/facts/Computational_fluid_dynamics/zuWdtNJp">computational fluid dynamics</a>, <a href="/facts/Plasma_(physics)/1d3btMVU">plasma physics</a>, <a href="/facts/Geophysics/ywVQ1sAQ">geophysics</a>, <a href="/facts/Computational_physics/1ltJ109X">computational physics</a>, <a href="/facts/Crystallography/9B5toeqG">crystallography</a> and <a href="/facts/Computational_chemistry/KyuCgRV3">computational chemistry</a>. It is a popular language for <a href="/facts/High-performance_computing/HT9NwGAN">high-performance computing</a> and is used for programs that benchmark and rank the world's <a href="/facts/TOP500/rz8zbyss">fastest supercomputers</a>.

Fortran has evolved through numerous versions and dialects. In 1966, the <a href="/facts/American_National_Standards_Institute/p3d1TQCb">American National Standards Institute</a> (ANSI) developed a standard for Fortran to limit proliferation of compilers using slightly different syntax. Successive versions have added support for a character data type (Fortran 77), <a href="/facts/Structured_programming/zA8b8dP1">structured programming</a>, <a href="/facts/Array_programming/gFx1SxIY">array programming</a>, <a href="/facts/Modular_programming/sNoqKvRD">modular programming</a>, <a href="/facts/Generic_programming/kqtqJk7p">generic programming</a> (Fortran 90), <a href="/facts/High_Performance_Fortran/xS9Bymmx">parallel computing</a> (<a href="/facts/Fortran_95_language_features/FBLNzmJH">Fortran 95</a>), <a href="/facts/Object-oriented_programming/TxNMEcao">object-oriented programming</a> (Fortran 2003), and <a href="/facts/Concurrent_programming/yVzQBPr9">concurrent programming</a> (Fortran 2008).

Since April 2024, Fortran has ranked among the top ten languages in the <a href="/facts/TIOBE_index/CfxkfgfM">TIOBE index</a>, a measure of the popularity of programming languages.

Fortran open-in-new

Fortran