ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich., Oct. 7, 2008 — Absoft Corporation, a leading developer of compilers, debuggers and software development tools for high performance computing, today announced significant advancements for Fortran developers targeting 64-bit and 32-bit Linux environments. Absoft states their newly released Pro Fortran v10.2 compiler suite for Linux improves Fortran development in two areas: 1) new SSE4 vector support increases performance of applications running on the latest 64-bit x86-64 and 32-bit x86 processors from AMD(r) (NYSE:AMD) such as AMD Quad-Core Opteron(tm) and AMD Phenom(tm) X4 and X3 processors and the latest processors from Intel (NYSE:INTC); and 2) IDE improvements which simplify code development/maintenance. Absoft Pro Fortran v10.2 for Linux is available immediately and prices start at $599.
“Absoft fosters its relationships with the major processor manufacturers including a long-standing collaborative relationship with AMD and we are very pleased with the significant performance benefits offered by leveraging AMD SSE4a,” said Wood Lotz, president of Absoft Corporation. “Our new Pro Fortran v10.2 is smart enough to automatically detect the type of system processor and optimize for instruction set extensions — including AMD SSE4a. Internally, we have seen up to a 10% improvement in code performance, where AMD SSE4a is invoked — without changing the code base,” continued Lotz.
Product details: www.absoft.com/Absoft_Linux_Compiler.htm
To simplify development, Absoft’s new Pro Fortran v10.2 bundles an updated environment, which, according to Absoft, includes the only commercially available graphical IDE designed specifically for Fortran/C. The IDE includes several new Fortran centric features, including exception trace back, Fx3 debugger with array/filter capabilities, a parallel build feature which harnesses multiple cores to speed program builds and a new make facility which automatically handles Fortran 90 module dependencies, thereby eliminating the need to continually hand order and track compilation sequences, as is required when using alternative products. A summary comparing the Absoft IDE to other leading IDEs is available from Absoft:
www.absoft.com/Absoft_IDE.htm. The Absoft IDE is a multi-platform solution and offers the same look and functionality on Linux, Windows and Mac OS, making it especially useful for those who work in multiple environments.
“Absoft has effectively leveraged AMD processor technology advances, targeting AMD dual- and quad-core processors for system scalability as well as multi-platform scalability in clusters,” said Margaret Lewis, director of Commercial Software and Solutions, AMD. “The new Absoft offering continues to help drive performance gains by leveraging AMD SSE4a, which is available in Quad-Core AMD Opteron and AMD Phenom processors.”
For cluster and HPC customers, Absoft Pro Fortran v10.2 for Linux has been validated by Open MPI and other MPI providers. Clustercorp offers Rocks + Rolls based on Absoft Fortran for x86-64 HPC clusters and parallel debuggers from Totalview and Allinea support Absoft compilers in a variety of environments.
Absoft Corporation (www.absoft.com) is a recognized leader in software development tools for Fortran, C/C++ and high-performance computing on Linux, Windows and MacOS systems.
