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The RTL has a method of accessing a file, called array I/O, where the file is mapped to virtual memory, and the address of the file is returned. To access the file, the program need not use I/O routines such as x/ zvread and x/ zvwrit. The file appears as a single large array at the returned address. Actual file I/O is accomplished via the paging mechanism of the operating system. On operating systems where this is not available, it is simulated by reading the file into a large chunk of memory when it is opened, and writing it out again when it is closed.
The key to array I/O is returning the address of the file in memory. This address is actually a pointer to the data. Under C, this is no problem. Fortran, however, does not understand pointers. Therefore, array I/O is not allowed directly in Fortran. There is a trick that can allow it to be used in some cases, however.
Previously, the few Fortran programs that used array I/O did it by receiving the address in an integer variable. This variable could then be passed in to a subroutine using %VAL, which passes the argument by value instead of by reference. The result of this was that the pointer got passed by value. The called routine expected an array passed by address, in other words a pointer to the array. Since the variable containing the address was passed by value, the subroutine was happy.
Unfortunately, %VAL is not portable and may not be used. Therefore, pure Fortran is unable to use array I/O. However, C does not have any problems passing things by reference or by value. So, you can use array I/O in a manner very similar to the SUBLIB stacka subroutine. The zvopen call must be made in a C-language function. It can then pass the returned address by value to a Fortran subroutine. The Fortran subroutine can access the file by treating the parameter as an array.
This method requires that all the Fortran code that uses the array I/O file must be in the subroutine that is called from C. This is quite similar to the way STACKA works. This may require significant revisions of the programs that use array I/O from Fortran, but fortunately they are fairly rare.
Another alternative would be to simply not use array I/O. Any program that uses array I/O should have an alternate method of accessing the file using line I/O ( x/ zvread and x/ zvwrit), in case the file is too big to be opened via array I/O. The line I/O backup is not required, but it is a good feature to include if possible. Use of array I/O only, with no backup line I/O, can severely limit the size of files that may be processed by the program. With a line I/O backup, a VMS version of the program could use array I/O if possible, but the Unix version of the program would use exclusively the line I/O alternative.