Rating: 
Summary: Best programming book...
Review: As an engineer and a professional I have been using programs for well on 20 years now. Having used a range of languages for different tasks I finally came back to Fortran, a langage I had not used since college.
I have found the book excellent in every respect both as a tool to re learn the language and as a reference work. The organisation of the book and the presentation is excellent.
Rating:
Summary: This is a SUPERCOLDER'S dream book in f90.
Review: Cannot keep this book down. Its the easiest and most useful programming book i have ever used. Infact, i have used it so much that it is falling apart and i may need a second copy. Cannot wait for the next edition
Rating:
Summary: Move to F95!
Review: Chapman has written a good and comprehensive guide to Fortran. I had previously learnt Fortran 90, and needed to upgrade to Fortran 95. If you already know 90, the differences are kinda minor. 95 should not give you any problems.Chapman also talks about higher level stuff. Like good coding techniques. So the book is about more than just at the syntax/subroutine level.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book for Part-Time Programmers
Review: Firstly, this book covers Fortran 90 and 95 in great detail, offering many helpful suggestions to those who are used to older versions of Fortran, such as Fortran 77, and highlighting the differences between the 90 and 95 versions. Where this book shines is in the hundreds of examples of and bits of advice on good programming practice spread throughout the book. It's specifically tailored to those "part-time" programmers, scientists and engineers who do not come from a computer science or software engineering background. Most current (and new) Fortran programmers would benefit greatly by learning the programming style found here. I can't agree with all the advice, however, such as abandoning the basic "real" and "double precision" data types in favor of the new "kind" parameterized types. Still, the philosophy behind such advice is sound, and good programmers will know when and when not to use specific language features. One subject unfortunately missing from the book is programming for parallel processors, and other techniques to speed programs up. But most Fortran programmers don't need to worry about this subject and those who do can get O'Reilly's "High Performance Computing" and Jon Bentley's "Writing Efficient Programs". The examples and quizzes within, and the exercises at the end of, each chapter make this a great textbook. The appendices and index make it useful as a reference book. If you program in Fortran 90 or 95, I'd say this book is a must-have.
Rating: 
Summary: Very good reference for code maintenance and development
Review: I had some exposure to Fortran programming in several of my college courses, but have been lacking in the way of a good reference the few times since that I have had to work with Fortran code. As an engineer in an industry that relies heavily on codes written in Fortran, many of them with portions that are 20-30 years old, I was in search of a general reference book that would help me find my way through these codes. Luckily, a colleague had a copy of Fortran 90/95 for Scientists and Engineers, and I liked it enough to buy my own copy instead of borrowing his all the time. I find this book to be very helpful not only because of its concise and clear explanations of Fortran syntax and programming tips, but also because it explains how to understand code written for older versions of Fortran (don't worry, the author clearly labels the old constructs and warns against using any outdated methods). I would recommend this book to anyone interested in better understanding Fortran code in general. It is quite suitable for beginners, as well, with multiple examples and exercises (with answers available on the author's website). I give it only four stars for the simple reason that five stars implies perfection, and there's always room for improvement in any endeavor. By far the best Fortran reference I've found so far, though...
Rating:
Summary: Very good reference for code maintenance and development
Review: I had some exposure to Fortran programming in several of my college courses, but have been lacking in the way of a good reference the few times since that I have had to work with Fortran code. As an engineer in an industry that relies heavily on codes written in Fortran, many of them with portions that are 20-30 years old, I was in search of a general reference book that would help me find my way through these codes. Luckily, a colleague had a copy of Fortran 90/95 for Scientists and Engineers, and I liked it enough to buy my own copy instead of borrowing his all the time. I find this book to be very helpful not only because of its concise and clear explanations of Fortran syntax and programming tips, but also because it explains how to understand code written for older versions of Fortran (don't worry, the author clearly labels the old constructs and warns against using any outdated methods). I would recommend this book to anyone interested in better understanding Fortran code in general. It is quite suitable for beginners, as well, with multiple examples and exercises (with answers available on the author's website). I give it only four stars for the simple reason that five stars implies perfection, and there's always room for improvement in any endeavor. By far the best Fortran reference I've found so far, though...
Rating:
Summary: *great* except for index
Review: I have found this book to be an excellent, outstanding reference. My only complaint is that the index was occasionally not detailed enough to allow me to easily locate a specific topic for which I was looking; on occasion I've had to page through a section to find what I'm looking for. (This review refers to the first edition, although the second edition is now out so this may have been corrected.) Otherwise, I've found it far superior to the two other Fortran books I've used. It contains many examples. In my view it's excellent as both a F77 and F90/95 reference.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent text for modern programming
Review: It is outrightly silly to rate this excellent book one star and insinuate that it is a terrible write-up. Is it the thin index that makes it so bad, or the explanation of do loops using sin(x) series expansion, according to the first reviewer? If you are a scientist or an engineer (the target audience of the book) you'll probably see the wisdom of such an example instead of counting from 1 to 10 as if we are inside a grocery store.
This is an excellent book not just for sake of learning the fortran language but also for writing modern and easily maintanable codes and algorithms. Whether you are a "pure" or "hybrid" programmer, you couldn't ever ask for something more.
I am sure the author will subsequently improve the indexing since most people seem to take an offence in that but the contents are just right.Of course Metcalf/Reid (Fortran 90/95 Explained) is also a very good text but is largely for reference purposes. Metcalf/Reid DOES NOT and will not teach you the nitty-gritty of fortran programming. In Metcalf/Reid, you must already have been there in programming, but Chapman will gradually take you to whatever level you deisre, depending on what you need. Very importantly, Chapman sprinkles throughout the text, several scientific and engineering examples and I guess it is why the text was so named in the first place - Fortran 90/95 for Scientists and Engineers.
It doesn't matter if you figure that you are way too cerebral and that Chapman is too simplistic for you. If you ever want to venture into programming, chances are that you are not an imbecile and any additional little knowledge gained is always an eternal treasure. This is an excellent text for programming in Fortran 90/95 and you'll be grateful that you did own a copy. Period.
Rating:
Summary: A must have for all engineers working with FORTRAN
Review: Stephen Chapman has managed to create a book that is indispensable to any engineer who is using the FORTRAN language. "Fortran 90/95 for Scientists and Engineers" is an extremely useful guide and teaching tool, no matter what level you are currently at. Whether you are a first time user or a die-hard FORTRAN expert, you will find this book quite valuable. Chapman has gone to great pains to teach first time users the best techniques and habits. He has also done a stellar job in discussing what changes have been implemented since FORTRAN 77. The discussions on obsolete procedures and techniques are quite useful for anyone who must work with old legacy codes. Many of the most powerful tools in FORTRAN are quite cumbersome and confusing, Chapman has done an excellent job in explaining and demonstrating these tools through his extensive use of examples. This book is superb, and is my one and only resource for FORTRAN programming.
Rating:
Summary: A must have for all engineers working with FORTRAN
Review: Stephen Chapman has managed to create a book that is indispensable to any engineer who is using the FORTRAN language. "Fortran 90/95 for Scientists and Engineers" is an extremely useful guide and teaching tool, no matter what level you are currently at. Whether you are a first time user or a die-hard FORTRAN expert, you will find this book quite valuable. Chapman has gone to great pains to teach first time users the best techniques and habits. He has also done a stellar job in discussing what changes have been implemented since FORTRAN 77. The discussions on obsolete procedures and techniques are quite useful for anyone who must work with old legacy codes. Many of the most powerful tools in FORTRAN are quite cumbersome and confusing, Chapman has done an excellent job in explaining and demonstrating these tools through his extensive use of examples. This book is superb, and is my one and only resource for FORTRAN programming.
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