Minimum to get started on Win7-64

[dboggs]

I have been using CVF for a long time now. Recently upgraded computer to Windows 7 64-bit edition and guess what--CVF won't load!

So I'm trying to figure out the minimum I need to get going again. I have explored the Intel web site, and maybe I'm dense, but I can't figure it out from there so thought I would try here. I have had trouble before, attempting to upgrade to IVF 9.?, ran into trouble with incompatibilities with my Visual Studio, fought that for hours/days, and eventually gave up, reverting to CVF. Then I learned that IVF ver10 came with a "companion version" of Visual Studio, so I thought I would buy that, put that decision off, and now I am faced with yet another new version.

I'm proposing to buy Vis For Composer XE2011. Does it come with some sort of "limited" version of Visual Studio? The documentation I can find is just not clear on this point.

I can also qualify for an academic edition, so my same question applies to that also.

If I have to upgrade my Visual Studio in order to run XE2011--whether regular or academic--will it work with Visual Studio Express? If so, what edition of VSE should I get? Should I download and install VSE before attempting to install XE2011?

I'm sorry to bother this technical forum with these questions, but in the past I have wasted MUCH time trying to deal with such matters so I'm hoping to get some better guidance ahead of time now.

Thanks,
Daryl

[Steven_L_Intel1]

Daryl,

Welcome to the forum. Your question is perfectly appropriate, though I'm disappointed that we haven't done a good-enough job of providing the information you're looking for on our site. Can you tell me where you looked and what was unclear or unstated so that I can feed that back to our marketing folks?

All you need is Intel Visual Fortran Composer XE 2011. It comes with a VS2008-based Fortran development environment so there is nothing else to buy. Should you want to purchase Visual Studio to use with Fortran, it would need to be the Professional Edition or higher - Microsoft does not allow non-MS tools to integrate with their "Express" editions.

As you are moving from CVF, I encourage you to read Migrating from Compaq Visual Fortran. You should also watch this animated tutorial Introduction to Intel Visual Fortran. If you have more questions, just let us know.

[dboggs]

Thanks Steve. I am not really new to this forum, I've watched it enough to believe that you could give me a straight and timely answer. You did not fail!

After seeing your answer and tracking through the Intel website once again, I can finally see where the answers to my questions are finally embedded. Since you asked, here's an outline of the difficulty I had.

1. Start with "Intel Compilers" page. Not knowing about the recent name changes, I initially rejected references to "Intel Composer" thinking that was something new and special, until eventually I learned otherwise, and select...

2. "Intel Visual Fortran Composer XE2011 for Windows"
This page starts with an initial (and pretty worthless) "initial overview" with additional selection tabs:

"Details" but this doesn't have it,
"What's new" and "how to"which of course don't have it,
"Resources", which leads to

3. Product Brief
This page begins with a statement of two products:
"Intel Visual Fortran Composer" for Windows, and
"Intel Fortran Composer" for Windows, Linux, and Mac.
What's the difference? I say. Are there two different producs for Windows, one visual and one plain? Only after further investigation do I realize this is a typo ("Visual Fortran Composer" is the only one available for Windows, and "Fortran Composer" is the only one available tor Linux and Mac).
The Brief goes on to state "The Windows version integrates into Visual Studio 2005*, 2008*, and 2010*... but this doesn't help me. Later, "Also included with the product is the MVS Shell* for those who do not have VS" Finally, a partial answer!
For more details there is a link given to product system requirements, but the link is faulty and leads to some unrelated Intel page.

So back to page 2, and now select the tab:

5. Support
This leads to many articles, and I briefly scan

6. Getting Started Guide (Which is only marginally useful, and mainly contains introductory info on things like new parallel and co-array features that I am not interested in

7. Release notes. Here, I can select the topic

8. Intel Visual Fortran Composer XE 2011 for Windows Installation Guide and Release Notes
Here I find, on page 3, that the product includes the Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Shell and Libraries (NOT INCLUDED WITH STUDENT OR EVALUATION LICENSES) Finally!
And on page 4, that I canuse the integrated IDE, based on the MVS2008 Shell, which is included with some license types (footnote 2), and footnote 2 states that this MVS shell is included with Academic and Commercial licenses but not with Evaluation or Student licenses.

Who would have thought that an academic license is different from a student license? And why not give the MVS shell to students and evaluators? Seems to me those are the ones who most need it and are least likely to expend the additional energy to download a work-around.

So anyway I finally found my answer, buried in footnote 2 of the Installation Guide and Release notes--which normally one wouldn't look at until after they buy the product--and which by wild luck I found available through tab 5 of page 2 option from the home page.

Whew!

I have now spent half a day looking for this information, then asking you for it, then recounting my original steps to describe the trouble. Getting the answer direct from you only took 45 minutes, and that included lunch! Thanks again!

Daryl

[TimP]

Steve L gives a full answer below.

As discussed previously on this forum, the student versions of ifort don't include VS2008 shell, because those who are eligible for those versions can get the full Visual Studio (2008 or 2010) direct from Microsoft as a more attractive option (and everyone, academic or not, can get VS evaluation from Microsoft). Microsoft doesn't allow a free evaluation of VS2008 shell, no matter who you are, so a free evaluation of full VIsual Studio has to be the preferred choice.

[dboggs]

Well now I'm confused! The release notes I referenced imply (quite strongly!) that academic and student licenses are two different things, and the "MVS shell is included with Academic and Commercial licenses but not with Evaluation or Student licenses." Am I missing something? If I buy the product code "VIS FORTRAN COMPOSER XE-2011 WIN 1S AE BOX" (and I assumed AE meant Academic Edition), will it include the VS shell or not?

[Steven_L_Intel1]

In this case, Tim is mistaken, though it's an easy error to make.

The Academic license includes the Visual Studio Shell and is in all ways the same as the Commercial license other than the price.

A Student license is available only as part of a bundle of products sold at a very significant discount to enrolled students - this does not include Visual Studio Shell.

Thanks for the details of where you looked on our site for the information. I will pass this along to those responsible.

[dboggs]

Thanks Steve. This is exactly what I was hoping to hear.

Your responsiveness in this forum is a significant consideration in my decision to continue with IVF.

Daryl