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Ratfor

Ratfor, short for Rational Fortran, is a preprocessor for Fortran designed to provide a more readable and structured syntax. It translates Ratfor code into standard Fortran code, allowing programmers to write in a style similar to C or ALGOL while leveraging the computational capabilities of Fortran.

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About Ratfor

Ratfor was developed in the 1970s to address the limitations of Fortran's syntax and structure. It provided a more readable and maintainable way to write Fortran code by introducing control structures and syntactic elements similar to those in modern programming languages. Its creation aimed to enhance productivity and code clarity for scientific and engineering applications.

Strengths of Ratfor included improved readability, structured programming features, and ease of use compared to traditional Fortran. Weaknesses were its reliance on a preprocessor and limited adoption outside specific scientific and engineering communities. Competitors included other structured programming languages like C and later versions of Fortran that incorporated similar enhancements.