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9 Ratfor

Ratfor” stands for “RATional FORtran.” It endows Fortran with a C-like syntax. Certain loop and other constructions (such as ‘switch’ or ‘i++’) that are not allowed in Fortran are allowed in Ratfor; Fweb translates those into proper Fortran.

Although Ratfor is a definite improvement over Fortran, it certainly does not have the power of C (e.g., elegant pointer notation) or C++ (e.g., classes). Many advantages accrue by taking the time to learn C. Ratfor offers a gentle transition. (It is not supported very actively any more.)