RSIC COMPUTER CODE PSR-088

1. NAME AND TITLE

AREAD: Input Data Processor for Transport Codes.

2. CONTRIBUTOR

Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey.

3. CODING LANGUAGE AND COMPUTER

Fortran IV; IBM 360/370.

4. NATURE OF PROBLEM SOLVED

AREAD is an input processing routine which allows large amounts of data to be specified in a compact and free-form notation. It is an improved version of the input subroutine FIDO for the transport codes DTF-II and ANISN and their descendants. Compared to FIDO, AREAD provides a more flexible linkage between itself and its caller and a greatly expanded vocabulary of option codes.

5. METHOD OF SOLUTION

AREAD is an extended version of the Free-Form FIDO routine in ANISN.

Input cards are scanned column-by-column to discover control code characters and digit strings. Then the control codes are interpreted to construct the desired input data.

6. RESTRICTIONS OR LIMITATIONS

Input to scalars rather than vectors must be done by subterfuge. Integer, real, and character data can be read, but not logical or double-precision. Unformatted and specially-formatted data can be read. The input unit number can be changed. Comments can be embedded in the data. AREAD is downward compatible with FIDO.

One Fortran programming trick is used to speed up the card scanning. This is isolated and documented for easy revision for machines other than the IBM 360.

7. TYPICAL RUNNING TIME

AREAD has typically been used with large packages whose computational time dwarfs the input time.

8. COMPUTER HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS

AREAD is operable on the IBM 360/370 computers.

9. COMPUTER SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

A Fortran IV compiler is required.

10. REFERENCE

W. G. Price, Jr., "AREAD, An Input Data Processing Routine," MATT-1034 (March 1974).

11. CONTENTS OF CODE PACKAGE

Included are the referenced document and one (1.2MB) DOS diskette which contains the source code and sample problem input and output.

12. DATE OF ABSTRACT

March 1984.