Purchase IFC 7.0 or Wait for Combined Product?

[Intel_C_Intel]

I am currently a CVF 6.6 user. Should I switch to IFC 7.0 even though it is not the "combined IFC/CVF product" or should I wait for the "combined" product? Is IFC 7.0 better than CVF 6.6 or just different? Id IFC 7.0 truly a step up from CVF 6.6?

[Steven_L_Intel1]

I'd say it's a step "sideways". Some things are better - it has REAL*16, SSE/SSE2 and Itanium support, OpenMP and can, in many cases, generate better code than CVF 6.6. Some things are worse - limited support for popular extensions, weak QuickWin support, no source browser, for example.

As for waiting - keep in mind that if you purchase 7.0 today, you get, at no charge, any release that comes out in the next year. It's a pretty good bet that the combined product will be released in that timeframe, so it's really a "can't lose" proposition. This is a different upgrade strategy than Compaq used, and we've seen many customer requests for it.

Another benefit of trying Intel Fortran now is that you can see what works and what doesn't work with your applications and report any problems you find. This will make the combined product better for us and for you. You may also find significant benefits in using the Intel compiler now, but you'll never know unless you try.

There's an article I wrote that is on the web site, Porting Applications from Compaq* Visual Fortran to Intel Fortran. I suggest reading it through to get an idea of what to expect.

My personal advice is that it is worth having Intel Fortran 7.0 alongside CVF - especially if you've switched to Visual Studio.NET. The new Array Visualizer has a lot of nice new features, too. (Note that there is only one "edition" at present, so everyone gets all the features.)

You can download a 30-day free trial copy - I suggest trying that and give it a spin.

Steve

[durisinm]

Steve, I can't print the porting article you mentioned in your post. Did you create that PDF file with special options that prevent printing?

Mike

[Steven_L_Intel1]

I didn't create the PDF - I wrote it in Word. But it prints fine for me from the version I linked to.

Steve

[durisinm]

I finally got it to print today. Our system is very picky with PDF files for some stupid reason.

Mike

[durisinm]

Steve,

The article you wrote about porting applications from CVF to Intel Fortran states that applications that use IMSL "may" not port well. Is that simply because Intel doesn't have the necessary agreements with Visual Numerics yet? If so, then does Intel plan to include IMSL with Intel Visual Fortran next year? Will we be unable to port current CVF projects that use IMSL to Intel Fortran unless we can find equivalent functionality in the Intel Math Kernel Libraries?

Will Intel Visual Fortran have standard and professional versions as CVF does today?

Mike

[Steven_L_Intel1]

Mike,

Intel Fortran 7.0 does not bundle IMSL. If you want IMSL for use with Intel Fortran 7.0, you'll need to contact Visual Numerics to see if they'll sell you a compatible library.

Negotiations with VNI for packaging IMSL with the future Intel Visual Fortran are still in progress. It is far too soon to know what form such packaging would take, or even if we will be able to offer this as a bundle.

At present, we don't have plans for separate editions (ala Standard and Professional), but clearly what happens with IMSL may affect that.

All I can tell you is that we'd like very much to be able to offer IMSL at a price that provides good value for the Visual Fortran user, under terms that make sense for Intel.

Steve