Re: [PATCH] Fortran Cray pointer macro support

[Marshall Ward]

On Tue, Oct 6, 2020 at 8:29 PM Zack Weinberg <zackw@panix.com> wrote:
>
> I think we would prefer the macro to be named AC_FC_CRAY_POINTERS, and
> I wonder whether there should be a _F77_ variant -- Cray pointers have
> been around since the 80s, haven't they?

Renaming the macro is not a problem.  I will make this change after
the patch has been reviewed.

Cray pointers predate me, but I would expect that they were also
present in Fortran 77 compilers.  I tried to ensure that the test
programs were properly formatted to run on both fixed and free form,
but I will try to go back and verify this.

Is it better to introduce a AC_FC and AC_F77 variant even if the
macros are identical?

> We are in a feature freeze right now, because we're trying to get the
> long-overdue 2.70 release finished; the earliest your patch could be
> accepted is for the 2.71 release. Also, I don't recognize your name as
> a prior contributor to Autoconf. This is more code than we can accept
> without a copyright assignment. If you've already gone through that
> process, or your contribution would be covered by your employer's
> assignment, just let me know; otherwise you need to follow the
> instructions on the form at
> https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/gnulib.git/tree/doc/Copyright/request-assign.future
> . It is best to do this as soon as possible, because sometimes the FSF
> takes a long time to process the paperwork.

The time frame is no problem for me, thanks for the update.  You are
correct, this would be a first contribution for me to Autoconf (or any
GNU project, for that matter).

I have filled out and submitted the form that you requested.  I did
develop a variant of this macro for an existing software project, but
it uses a very liberal license (LGPL 3) and copyright.  I will contact
my employer to confirm this, or see if they have already completed a
similar form.  I can also CC you a copy of the form containing more
details if you think it would be helpful.

On Tue, Oct 6, 2020 at 8:29 PM Zack Weinberg <zackw@panix.com> wrote:
>
> On Tue, Oct 6, 2020 at 12:24 PM Marshall Ward <marshall.ward@gmail.com> wrote:
> > This patch adds a macro, AC_FC_CRAY_POINTER, which tests if the Fortran
> > compiler supports Cray pointers.
>
> This seems like a reasonable addition to me. Would anyone with Fortran
> experience care to comment? I have never properly learned Fortran.
>
> I think we would prefer the macro to be named AC_FC_CRAY_POINTERS, and
> I wonder whether there should be a _F77_ variant -- Cray pointers have
> been around since the 80s, haven't they?
>
> We are in a feature freeze right now, because we're trying to get the
> long-overdue 2.70 release finished; the earliest your patch could be
> accepted is for the 2.71 release. Also, I don't recognize your name as
> a prior contributor to Autoconf. This is more code than we can accept
> without a copyright assignment. If you've already gone through that
> process, or your contribution would be covered by your employer's
> assignment, just let me know; otherwise you need to follow the
> instructions on the form at
> https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/gnulib.git/tree/doc/Copyright/request-assign.future
> . It is best to do this as soon as possible, because sometimes the FSF
> takes a long time to process the paperwork.
>
> (The need for a copyright assignment also means I haven't reviewed
> your code in detail.)
>
> zw