Should I upgrade from v10 to v18?

[JBail8]

I have a new windows computer on the way and am wondering if there would be sufficient benefit to upgrading to the latest version.  I run and maintain a lot of mainly f77 code.  Would the new compiler work enough better with modern chips to make a significant difference?  And, is that difference likely to be worth the cost of the compiler ($850).

I know a good answer would be dependent on the programs I'm running, but is there any general guidance?

[jimdempseyatthecove]

You may have issues installing V10 onto a new Windows computer (assuming it is delivered withy Windows 10). You may also have issues installing V10 vintage MS Visual Studio (e.g. 2005). Therefore your upgrade decision may additionally require you to upgrade MS VS as well.

The newer compiler(s), and tools in the Parallel Studio editions are well worth the price if you intend to improve the F77 code. For example improve the performance of the code:

a) Use of newer CPU instruction set
b) Better use of SIMD vectorizatoin
c) Performance tuning by way of Intel's Advisor and Amplifier (VTune)
d) OpenMP parallelization (V10 had OpenMP, V17/18 have newer OpenMP directives)
e) Distributed programming via OpenMPI

Not to mention, locating latent bugs that may exist within your existing code.

Jim Dempsey

[JBail8]

Thanks, yes, Windows 10.  Of course, I'd _like_ the new compiler, but will my codes, as is, run much faster.  I recall that when I switched from CVF to IF there was a significant drop in speed.  Across the organization, it was about 30% (I think, but it was a long time ago).  Fixing that alone would justify the cost.

So, I've got the trial version and I requires Visual Studio, but apparently the purchased version includes a "Fortran development environment based on the Microsoft Visual Studio 2015 shell" - what is that?  Is it equivalent to the Premiere Partner Edition (or similar name) that came with my old compiler?  When I see the word "shell" I think of a command line interface.I haven't edited Makefiles in ... gee ... 20 years?

[Steve_Lionel]

If you buy, you get a Fortran-only development environment based on VS2015. Yes, it's like the VSPPE that was in V10. You can also use the Visual Studio Community Edition from Microsoft, and can use that for the trial. Be sure to read https://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/intel-c-fortran-compilers-for-windows-integration-into-microsoft-visual-studio-2017

The current version of Intel Fortran performs much better than CVF. It did take a few releases for that to happen. Of course, CVF never supported 64-bit, which Intel Fortran does.