f2c.exe.gz is a compressed MSDOS version of f2c that should run on just about any MSDOS machine. It was compiled by Microsoft Visual C++ 1.51 with ccm.bat in March 1999; we do not intend to recompile it again. It is superceded by the Win32 f2c.exe in directory ../mswin. f2cx.exe.gz is a compressed MSDOS version of f2c that requires an 80386 or 80486, as it uses extended memory. It was compiled by the Symantec C/C++ compiler (version 6.11, with ccs.bat), and it generally can translate larger Fortran files without running out of memory than can f2c.exe. etime.exe.gz is a compressed MSDOS timing program that is of interest because it can redirect stderr (file descriptor 2). For example, invoking etime -2foo.err f2c foo.f or etime -2+foo.err f2c foo.f will cause the output that f2c writes on file descriptor 2 (such as the names of the subprograms translated and any warning or error messages) while it processes the Fortran in file foo.f to be written to file foo.err rather than to the screen. The first invocation overwrites foo.err, while the second one appends to it. (You can replace "foo.f" with any f2c command-line options and input file name of your choice, and can similarly change "foo.err" to any file name you like. Sensible shells allow redirection of stderr, but etime.exe is useful with MSDOS's command.com.) Etime also can run f2cx.exe, or any other MSDOS program whose arguments fit on its command line. Execute "etime" or "etime -?" for usage summary. Compression is by gzip, source for which is available by ftp in prep.ai.mit.edu:/pub/gnu. As a convenience, gzip binaries for several systems (with names of the form system.executable) and source for the gzip used to compress the *.gz files are available for ftp from netlib directory gnu/gzip. In particular, if you copy gnu/gzip/dos.executable to an MSDOS machine (in binary mode), rename it gzip.exe, and rename f2c.exe.gz f2c.exz and f2cx.exe f2cx.exz, then on the MSDOS machine you can recover f2c.exe and f2cx.exe by executing "gzip -dN f2c.exz f2cx.exz". "xsum f2c.exe f2c.exe.gz f2cx.exe f2cx.exe.gz" should give you: f2c.exe 1c458998 285402 f2c.exe.gz e93d0ab 141545 f2cx.exe f721d8b8 262097 f2cx.exe.gz 13ba4d83 140359 Last (and final) update of f2cx.exe: 17 December 2002