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Include Files

Fortran include files are a tough problem under Unix. That is because on some Fortran compilers (notably on the Sun), the INCLUDE statement does not accept environment variables, nor is there a way on the command line to specify a directory for includes. That means that includes must either be in the current directory during the compile, or they must have an absolute pathname in the INCLUDE statement. The latter solution is clearly unacceptable, since the directory names change not only from system to system, but for different versions (development, operational, etc.) of VICAR!

This means that all includes must be in the current directory in order for the Fortran compiler to find them. This is achieved via the build files created by vimake. On Unix, they create a symbolic link for each include you use (which must be specified in the imakefile) in the current directory. The compiler can then find the includes via these links. The links are deleted when the compile is finished. On VMS, temporary logical names are created for the includes you use that point at the correct location. The logical names go away after the compile.

There are four major classes of include files you will use. They are VICAR main, VICAR system, VICAR subroutine, and local. There are no system includes available in Fortran.

Please keep track of which include files you actually need, and include only those. Some includes require that others be included first, but try to achieve the minimum set. Extra includes in your program don't gain you anything, and they slow down your compiles. They also make system maintenance much tougher, since the source code must occasionally be searched to see what programs use an include, and all programs that use an include must be recompiled when it changes (even if it's not really used).

The VICAR main include file, which all VICAR programs should start with, must be in upper case, with single quotes. The name of the main include has changed to ``VICMAIN_FOR'', with no directory specifiers. Do not add the `` /NOLIST'' qualifier that is common in current VICAR applications. Since all applications need VICMAIN_FOR, it is made available automatically in the build files, and you do not need to list it in the imakefile.

        INCLUDE 'VICMAIN_FOR'

VICAR system includes are those provided as part of the RTL. Their names should be in lower case, without a file type extension or pathname. They should be in single quotes. The valid ones are listed below (as of this writing, there is only one). They must be listed in the imakefile, in FTNINC_LIST, to be accessible. See Section , vimake, for more details.

        INCLUDE 'errdefs'

VICAR subroutine include files are quite similar to the VICAR system includes. They should be in lower case, without a file type extension or pathname, and they should be in single quotes. They must also be listed in the imakefile, in FTNINC_LIST, to be accessible. The include file itself comes from one of the application include directories, such as p2$inc ($P2INC) or vrdi$inc ($VRDIINC), and must be in lower case with an extension of ``.fin'' (for Fortran INclude).

        INCLUDE 'sublib_inc'
        INCLUDE 'fortport'
        INCLUDE 'verrdefs'

Local includes, which are delivered as part of the COM file and are used only by that application, should be referenced in lower case, with the ``.fin'' extension. They should not be listed in FTNINC_LIST, although all local includes must be in INCLUDE_LIST so they can be cleaned up properly.

        INCLUDE 'my_include.fin'