



			    FORTRAN IV/RT-11 V2.8
			    ---------------------

			    ONLINE RELEASE NOTES
			    --------------------


Introduction
------------

The primary purpose of this release of FORTRAN IV/RT-11 is to correct various
problems inherent in the previous version of FORTRAN IV (V2.6).

This document provides the following information about FORTRAN IV/RT-11 V2.8:

     o	A list of the problems that have been corrected

     o	Notes on installation and documentation of the OTS library

     o	A description of the FORTRAN Debugging Technique





Problems Corrected in FORTRAN IV/RT-11 V2.8
-------------------------------------------

The following problems have been corrected in FORTRAN IV/RT-11 V2.8:

     o	Failure to pass the carriage-control argument to the ASSIGN library
	subroutine

     o	Fatal error when opening a file under the XM monitor

     o	Appearance of incorrect sign for certain DSIN and DCOS results,
	occurring with the FPU hardware option

     o	Intermittent truncation of REAL values output with the "E" field
	descriptor

     o	Incorrect processing of '$' carriage control character and '$' field
	descriptor when output is to a terminal

     o	Failure to update directory information in word-oriented unformatted
	files when output follows a BACKSPACE operation

     o	All known problems with byte-oriented unformatted I/O:

	  - Failure to update directory information when output follows a
	    BACKSPACE operation

	  - Error in file structure, resulting in corruption of data

	  - Non-detection of attempt to read past end of record

	  - Processing of zero-length records as if of length one

	  - Non-detection of ENDFILE records that span block boundary

     o	All known problems with non-PLAS VIRTUAL arrays:

	  - Absence of 22-bit addressing capability

	  - Corruption of trap vectors when ^C^C from console terminates a
	    program during VIRTUAL array initialization

	  - Failure to confirm at runtime that sufficient memory is available
	    to accommodate requested VIRTUAL arrays





Problems Corrected in FORTRAN IV/RT-11 V2.8 (continued)
-------------------------------------------------------

     o	All known problems with BACKSPACE operation:

	  - Confusion of buffers when double-buffering is used

	  - Incorrect setting of formatted file pointers when record separator
	    coincides with a block boundary

	  - Mishandling of end-of-file condition for formatted files

     o	All known problems with list-directed input:

	  - Non-recognition of lowercase LOGICAL data

	  - Non-recognition of COMPLEX data containing white space between
	    left parenthesis and real component

	  - Non-recognition of COMPLEX data of the form "(x)", now evaluated
	    as (x,0.0)

	  - Non-detection of error when COMPLEX data is entered in the form
	    "(x,y,)"

	  - Conversion of invalid COMPLEX input data to null value.  Errors
	    are now detected and reported as ERROR 64, INPUT CONVERSION ERROR.

	  - Non-conversion of COMPLEX input data whose destination variable
	    is of data type LOGICAL*4

	  - Misinterpretation of right parenthesis as record terminator

	  - Generation of fatal error when destination of input is a VIRTUAL
	    array

	  - Incorrect processing of null data when destination is a VIRTUAL
	    array

	  - Failure to clear destination variables on INPUT CONVERSION ERROR

	  - Failure to transfer control as specified by ERR= argument when
	    invalid COMPLEX data is supplied as input





OTS Library: Installation and Documentation
-------------------------------------------

Prompts in OTS customization procedure 
--------------------------------------
In the past, prompts in the procedure for creating a customized OTS library
(OTSGEN.SAV) implied incorrectly that SYSLIB.OBJ, the RT-11 system library, is
the preferred destination for the OTS library modules.  Because installation
of the OTS into SYSLIB is not recommended, these prompts have been changed.


Documentation of FORTRAN-callable System Subroutines
----------------------------------------------------
The following FORTRAN-callable system subroutines, originally documented only
in the RT-11 Programmer's Reference Manual, are now documented in the RT-11
FORTRAN IV User's Guide as well.

	GETSTR		IASIGN		ICDFN		IFETCH

	IFREEC		IGETC		IGETSP		ILUN

	INTSET		IQSET		PUTSTR






FORTRAN Debugging Technique
---------------------------
Included with the FORTRAN IV/RT-11 V2.8 kit is the FORTRAN Debugging Technique
(FDT), an unsupported tool for debugging FORTRAN IV programs.  The three FDT
files, listed and described below, are not part of the FORTRAN IV product and
are not used by FORTRAN IV.  They can be obtained by copying them from the
kit; FDT.DOC can also be printed or displayed by using the RT-11 command PRINT
or TYPE.  Please refer to FDT.DOC for further information.

	File		Description
	----		-----------
	FDT.DOC		FORTRAN Debugging Technique Reference Manual
	FDT.OBJ		FDT software in object form
	FDTVER.FOR	FDT verification program, written in FORTRAN IV
