Originally known as FORTRAN, but written in lower case since the 1990s with Fortran 90, this language was developed initially by John Backus as a way to make writing programs for the IBM 704 mainframe easier. The 704 was a 1954 mainframe with the honor of being the first mass-produced computer that supported hardware-based floating point calculations. This functionality opened it up to a whole new dimension of scientific computing, with use by Bell Labs, US national laboratories, NACA (later NASA), and many universities.

Much of this work involved turning equations for fluid dynamics and similar into programs that could be run on mainframes like the 704. This translating of formulas used to be done tediously in assembly languages before Backus’ Formula Translator (FORTRAN) was introduced to remove most of this tedium. With it, engineers and physicists could focus on doing their work and generating results rather than deal with the minutiae of assembly code. Decades later, this is still what Fortran is used for today, as a domain-specific language (DSL) for scientific computing and related fields.

In this introduction to Fortran 90 and its later updates we will be looking at what exactly it is that makes Fortran still such a good choice today, as well as how to get started with it.

Modern Fortran

Punch card from a typical FORTRAN program by the early 1970s. (Credit: Arnold Reinhold, Wikimedia)
The release of the Fortran 90 (F90) specification in 1991 was the first major update to the language since Fortran 77, and introduced many usability improvements, as well as the dropping of punch card era legacy requirements and limitations to variable lengths and more. This is the reason for our focus on F90 here, as there is no real reason to use F77 or earlier, unless you’re maintaining a legacy codebase, or you have a stack of new cards that need punching. In case you are dying to know what changed, the Wikibooks Fortran Examples article has examples of early FORTRAN all the way to modern Fortran.

Of note here is that a modern Fortran compiler like GCC’s GFortran(forked from g95) still supports F77, but users are highly encouraged to move on to Fortran 95, a minor update to F90, with GFortran supporting up to F2008, with coarray support, as covered later. F2018 support is still a work in progress as of writing, but many features are already available.

Support for the latest standard (F2023) is not widely available yet outside of commercial compilers, but as a minor extension of F2018 it should eventually get rolled into those features as the implementation progresses. This means that for now F2008 is the latest standard we can reliably target across toolchains with new Fortran code.

Beyond GFortran there are a few more options, including Flang in LLVM and LFortran in addition to a gaggle of commercial offerings. Unless you intend to run high-performance computing code on massive parallel clusters like supercomputers, the GNU and LLVM offerings will probably suffice. Simply fetch either GFortran or Flang from your local package manager or equivalent and you should be ready to start with programming in Fortran.

Hello World

As with most DSLs, there is very little preamble to start writing the business logic. The ‘Hello World’ example is most succinct:
program helloworld
print *, "Hello, World!"
end program helloworld
The program name is specified right after the opening program keyword, which is repeated after the closing end program. This is similar to languages like Ada and Pascal. The program name does not have to match the name of the file. Although there’s no explicit specification for what the file extension has to be for a Fortran source file, convention dictates that for F77 and older you use .f or .for, while F90 and newer uses generally .f90 as extension. Although some opt to use extensions like .f95 and .f03, this is rather confusing, isn’t recognized by all compilers and all of those are similar free-form Fortran source files anyway.

Tl;dr: Use .f90 for modern Fortran source files. Our Hello World example goes into a file called hello_world.f90.

The other point of note in this basic example is the print command, which looks somewhat cryptic but is quite easy. The first argument is the format, reminiscent of C’s printf. The asterisk here simply means that we use the default format for the provided value, but we could for example print the first string as an 11 character wide field and a variable string as 8 wide:
character(len=8) :: name = 'Karl'
print '(a11,a8)', 'My name is ', name
This also shows how to declare and define a variable in Fortran. Note that if you do not start the code with implicit none, variable names that start with I through N are considered to be integer type and real otherwise. With gfortran you can also globally do this by compiling with the -fimplicit-none flag.

A total of five basic types are supported:

• real
• integer
• logical (boolean)
• complex
• character

Finally, comments in Fortran are preceded by an exclamation mark !. It’s also relevant to note that Fortran – like all good programming languages – is case insensitive, so you can still write your Fortran code like it’s F77 or Fortran II, yelling in all caps without anyone but the people reading your code batting an eye.

Hello Science

Now that we have got a handle on the basics of Fortran, we can look at some fun stuff that Fortran makes really easy. Perhaps unsurprisingly, as a DSL that targets scientific computing, much of this fun stuff focuses around making such types of computing as easy as possible. Much of this can be found in the intrinsic procedures of Fortran, which make working with real, integer and complex values quite straightforward.

For example, conjugating a complex number with conjg:
(Credit: Fortran Wiki)
Basically, whatever mathematical operation you wish to perform, Fortran should have you covered, allowing you to translate your formulas into a functional program without having to bother with any dependencies or the like. This includes working with matrices and getting into the weeds with numerical precision.

Even better is that you’re not stuck running your code on a single CPU core either. Since Fortran 2008, Coarray Fortran (CAF) is now part of the specification. This feature enables parallel processing, which is generally implementing on top of the Message Passing Interface (MPI) protocol, with gfortran implementing CAF support. Depending on the selected option with the -fcoarray= flag, gfortran can use the ‘single’ image (thread) option, or with a library like OpenCoarrays it can use MPI, GASNet, and others.

When using CAF with MPI, the program (‘image’) is distributed across all nodes in the MPI cluster per its configuration, with synchronization occurring as defined by the program. With OpenCoarrays available from many local OS repositories, this means that any budding molecular scientist and astrophysicists can set up their own MPI cluster and start running simulations with relatively very little effort.

The DSL Life

Much like when we looked at COBOL, a DSL like Fortran is often misunderstood as ‘yet another programming language’, much like how in the 1980s some thought that the scientific and engineering communities were going to switch over to Pascal or Modula-2. One simple reason that didn’t happen lies in the very nature of DSLs, with them being developed explicitly to deal with that specific domain. It will always be possible to do everything a DSL does in any generic programming language, it’s just that a DSL can be optimized more exactly, and is often easier to maintain, since it is not generic.

There are many things that Fortran does not have to concern itself with, yet which haunt languages like C and its kin. Meanwhile, reimplementing Fortran in C would come at considerable cost, run into certain limitations of the language and potentially require compromises in order to get close to the original functionality of the DSL.

Running a cluster with Coarray-based Fortran source, churning through complex simulations that require utmost control over precision and where one small flaw can waste days of very expensive calculations, those are the kind of scenarios where you’re not looking for some generic language to poorly reinvent the wheel, but where you keep using the same – yet much more refined – wheel that has gotten us this far.

hackaday.com/2025/08/04/a-gent…

Steve and James discuss ICE (et. al.) actions, how they are becoming a secret police force and why we need to get rid of them.

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Some links we mentioned:

• MassPirates 2025 Administrative Coup Memory Bank;
• The IRS Is Building a Vast System to Share Millions of Taxpayers’ Data With ICE;
• 26 USC 6103: Confidentiality and disclosure of returns and return information;
• Immigration agents demand tenant information from landlords, stirring questions and confusion;
• Flight Manifests Reveal Dozens of Previously Unknown People on Three Deportation Flights to El Salvador;

Image Credit: Public Domain via Wikipedia Commons

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Three-axis 3D printing has been with us long enough that everybody knows the limitations, but so far, adding extra axes has been very much a niche endeavor. [Daniel] at Fractal Robotics wants to change that, with the Fractal 5 Pro 5-axis printer, and its corresponding Fractal Cortex slicer.

The printer looks like an extra-beefy Voron from a distance, which is no surprise as [Daniel] admits to taking heavy inspiration from the Voron Trident. The Fractal 5 shares a core-XY geometry with the Voron, using beefy 30 mm x 30 mm extrusions. Also like the Voron, it runs Klipper on a Raspberry Pi hiding in the base. Under a standard-looking printhead using a BondTech extruder and E3D volcano hotend, we find the extra two axes hiding under the circular build plate. The B axis is a gantry that can pivot the build plate assembly a full 90 degrees; the A axis spins the plate without limit thanks to the slip rings built into the design.

The extruder may look fairly normal, but it has actually been designed very carefully to allow the nozzle to get as close as possible to the build plate when the B-axis is at 90 degrees. It looks like the E3D hotend is actually the limiting factor there, which gives plenty of design freedom when planning prints in the accompanying Fractal Cortex slicer.

Fractal Cortex is an all-new slicer written entirely in Python. It does have a 3-axis legacy mode, but it’s primarily designed for 5-axis slicing with the Fractal 5 Pro. The multi-axis operation looks very straightforward: you place “slicing planes” and orient them along the part, as many as you require. Printing pauses while the A and B axes rotate, then resumes with straight, parallel layers. Sure, non-planar slicing would be the bees’ knees on this sort of 5-axis printer, but we’ve got to say for a young engineer’s first crack at this kind of software, Fractal Cortex looks pretty good.

It sounds like [Daniel] is looking for contributors to the project, so if this project tickles your fancy, head over to the GitHub links at the top of the page and dive in.

We’ve seen other 5D printers before, but this one probably takes the cake for build volume, and having a slicer to match is a big advantage for anyone who wants to try this at home.

Thanks to [Hari] for the tip. Use all your axes to extrude your projects into our tips line here.

youtube.com/embed/2_BY-7XOgWg?…

hackaday.com/2025/08/04/open-s…

Testo preparato con Peppe Brescia

Lo scorso 31 Luglio è stato annunciato l’inizio del primo programma sperimentale sugli utilizzi compassionevoli della psilocibina in un Paese europeo.

La notizia è stata divulgata tramite un comunicato da parte di Filament Health Corp., società canadese operativa nello sviluppo di farmaci psichedelici.

Il progetto appare per molti aspetti paragonabile all’iniziativa dell’Associazione Luca Coscioni L’Italia apra alle terapie psichedeliche, finalizzata proprio all’ottenimento della prescrivibilità di farmaci psichedelici in quanto cure compassionevoli.

La sperimentazione di Filament, che consentirà la somministrazione di psilocibina a persone affette da depressione resistente al trattamento (TRD), prenderà l’avvio in Germania, laddove il farmaco denominato PEX010 è già stato approvato per l’utilizzo su un paziente.

Ai medici sarà consentito prescrivere psilocibina tramite il cosiddetto Programma di Accesso Esteso, che permette il ricorso a farmaci non ancora approvati e a molecole classificate come illegali nei casi di pazienti affetti da malattie gravi o potenzialmente letali.

Il ricorso a tale procedura è vincolato alla presenza di determinate condizioni, come ad esempio l’assenza di un trattamento soddisfacente con farmaci approvati o l’impossibilità di partecipare a una sperimentazione clinica.

L’esame di ogni caso viene infine condotto alla luce di una valutazione rischio-beneficio.

A seguito del nulla osta del Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices, ente regolatore tedesco in materia di farmaci, la ricerca sarà portata avanti presso due strutture, ovvero l’Istituto Centrale di Salute Mentale di Mannheim (CIMH) e la Clinica OVID di Berlino, centro specializzato nella cura di persone affette da TRD.

In ragione di un budget limitato, si prevede che nel corso del primo anno l’arruolamento dei pazienti interesserà meno di cinquanta di essi.

Lo svolgimento del programma seguirà quattro fasi.

In primo luogo, il paziente dovrà effettuare screening e visita medica presso lo studio di uno psichiatra specializzato, cui faranno seguito almeno due sedute preparatorie con l’accompagnamento di un terapista.

A questo punto si procederà alla seduta di somministrazione del farmaco.

In conclusione, sono previste sessioni strutturate di valutazione ed eventuale integrazione.

Il progetto tedesco appare in linea con altri programmi già in corso, come nel caso di Svizzera e Canada, pur differendo in ragione di alcune caratteristiche peculiari.

In primo luogo, agli psichiatri operanti in una delle due sedi cliniche designate sarà accordata la possibilità di assumere decisioni autonome circa l’inclusione dei pazienti nel programma di trattamento. In Canada, tali questioni rimangono di competenza degli enti regolari.

Tale aspetto, secondo gli esperti, potrebbe costituire un miglioramento significativo, agevolando il percorso del paziente e attribuendo agli operatori maggiore indipendenza in ambito burocratico, dunque riducendo in maniera rilevante i tempi di attesa e facilitando il rimborso da parte delle compagnie assicurative.

Inoltre, il protocollo non renderà necessaria la richiesta di autorizzazione per ogni singola dose, poiché in caso di mancata risposta, così come in un’ottica di mantenimento della terapia, sarà consentito procedere alla ripetizione della somministrazione.

Si tratta di una possibilità concessa dall’Istituto Federale per i Farmaci e i Dispositivi Medici (BfArM), il quale ha tuttavia stabilito una regolamentazione piuttosto rigida per cui al momento non sono previste possibilità di modifica, in particolare per quel che riguarda la fase di monitoraggio.

Il trattamento con psilocibina, che verrà autorizzato solo in casi eccezionalmente giustificati, sarà condotto dal Dott. Gerhard Gründer, responsabile del Dipartimento di Neuroimaging Molecolare del CIMH e già a capo del primo studio di fase 2 sulla psilocibina per la TRD svoltosi in Germania.

Secondo Gründer, l’approvazione del programma di trattamento rappresenta “un momento storico per il campo della medicina psichedelica nell’Unione Europea”.

Altri operatori del settore hanno fatto eco alle parole di Gründer.

Anne Philippi, fondatrice del New Health Club di Berlino e del New Health Institute negli Stati Uniti, ha dichiarato: “Si tratta di una mossa inaspettata per la Germania, e credo che la narrativa sugli psichedelici come nuovi strumenti di cura sarà molto più facile da cambiare”. Stando alla ricercatrice, “l’opinione pubblica ne sarà enormemente influenzata”.

Secondo Philip Drechsel, co-fondatore del New Health Institute, l’approvazione del programma di utilizzo compassionevole non solo segna “l’inizio di una nuova era nell’assistenza psichiatrica nell’UE”, ma in particolare è stata in grado di dimostrare “cosa è possibile quando scienza e sofferenza vengono ascoltate”.

Meno entusiasta la reazione del Bundesärztekammer, l’istituzione avente funzioni di coordinamento dei diciassette ordini medici regionali tedeschi.

L’organo, ribadendo lo status di illegalità della psilocibina, ha sottolineato la durata limitata del programma di uso compassionevole, la quale potrebbe essere ulteriormente abbreviata dall’approvazione circa l’uso farmaceutico della molecola a livello comunitario.

Stando a un sondaggio della Fondazione tedesca per l’aiuto alla depressione e la prevenzione del suicidio condotto nel 2024 su circa cinquemila persone, il 45% della popolazione tedesca è direttamente o indirettamente affetta da patologie depressive.

La percentuale di persone resistenti al trattamento è stimata tra il 20% e il 30% del totale.

Alla luce delle decine di richieste di trattamento che CIMH e clinica OVID dichiarano di aver ricevuto, la selezione della coorte ha già avuto inizio.

Nel frattempo, Filament Health sta lavorando alla presentazione delle domande di autorizzazione per l’immissione del farmaco in commercio.

Per sostenere l’iniziativa L’Italia apra alle terapie psichedeliche, è possibile firmare a questo link

L'articolo La Germania apre alle terapie psichedeliche. L’Italia cosa aspetta? proviene da Associazione Luca Coscioni.