Functions and subroutines

Last updated on 2026-02-21 | Edit this page

Overview

Questions

  • How can I factor code out into different program procedures?
  • How do I control the flow of information into and out of procedures?

Objectives

  • See how to create and call both functions and subroutines.
  • Use the intent attribute with dummy arguments to change their read and write permissions within the procedure.
  • Understand the meanings of pure and recursive procedures.

What’s the difference?

The difference between functions and subroutines is to a degree one of context. A function returns a result and is generally used where it is best invoked as part of an expression or assignment, schematically:

FORTRAN 

  value = my_function(arg1, arg2, ...)

Unlike C, it is not possible simply to discard a function result. A subroutine, by contrast, does not return a result (it may be thought of as a void function in C terms), but it is also invoked differently:

FORTRAN 

  call my_subroutine(arg1, arg2, ...)

Subroutines are generally used to express more lengthy algorithms.

Note that in the calling context, the arguments arg1, arg2, etc are referred to as the actual arguments.

Dummy arguments and intent attribute

Procedures may have zero or more arguments (referred to as the dummy arguments at the point at which the procedure is defined). Three different cases can be identified:

  1. read-only arguments whose values are not updated by the procedure;
  2. read-write arguments whose values are expected to be defined on entry, and may also be updated by the procedure;
  3. write-only arguments whose values are only defined on exit.

These three cases may be encoded in the declarations of the dummy arguments of a procedure via the intent attribute . For example:

FORTRAN 

  subroutine print_x(x)

    real, intent(in) :: x

    print *, "The value of x is: ", x

  end subroutine print_x

Here, dummy argument x has intent(in) which tells the compiler that any attempt to modify the value is erroneous (a compiler error will result). This is different from C, where a change to an argument passed by value is merely not reflected in the caller.

Callout

Passing by reference

If you are used to C/C++, you should remain aware here that the Fortran standard requires actual arguments to be passed to functions and subroutines in such a way that they ‘appear’ to have been passed by reference. How to do so is left to the compiler (which may use copies or actually pass by reference) but any changes made to a dummy argument inside a procedure will be reflected in the actual arguments passed to it, unless prevented by having intent(in).

If one wants to alter the existing value of the argument, intent(inout) is appropriate:

FORTRAN 

  subroutine increment_x(x)

    real, intent(inout) :: x

    x = x + 1.0

  end subroutine increment_x

If the dummy argument is undefined on entry, or has a value which is simply to be overwritten, use intent(out), e.g.:

FORTRAN 

  subroutine assign_x(x)

    real, intent(out) :: x

    x = 1.0

  end subroutine assign_x

The intent attribute, as well as allowing the compiler to detect inadvertent errors, provides some useful documentation for the reader.

Local variables do not have intent and are declared as usual.

Exercise (2 minutes)

Challenge

Exercise name

Attempt to compile the accompanying module1.f90 and associated main program program1.f90. Check the error message emitted, and sort out the intent of the dummy arguments in module1.f90.

assign_x() should use intent(out) for x as it doesn’t matter what it was previously; we want to set it to 1 and return it.

print_x() is correct to use intent(in) for x as it needs to know its value in order to print it, and it shouldn’t change it.

increment_x() should have intent(inout) for x: the subroutine needs to know its previous value in order to add to it (hence in) and it needs to be able to pass the new value back out (hence out).

Functions

A function may be defined as:

FORTRAN 

function my_mapping(value) result(a)

  real, intent(in) :: value
  real             :: a

  a = ...

end function my_mapping

Formally,

FORTRAN 

[prefix] function function-name (dummy-arg-list) [suffix]
  [ specification-part ]
  [ executable-part ]
end [ function [function-name] ]

As ever, there is some elasticity in the exact form of the declarations you may see. In particular, older versions did not have the result() suffix, and the function-name was used as the variable to which the return value was assigned. E.g.,

FORTRAN 

real function length(area)
  real area
  length = sqrt(area)
end function length

The modern form should be preferred; the result() part allows the two names to be decoupled.

pure procedures

Procedures which have no side effects may be declared with the pure prefix; this may provide useful information to the compiler in some circumstances. E.g.,

pure function special_function(x) result(y)
  real, intent(in) :: x
  ! ...
end function special_function

There are a number of conditions which must be met to qualify for pure status:

  1. For a function, any dummy arguments must be intent(in);
  2. No variables accessed by host association can be updated (and no variables with save attribute);
  3. there must be no operations on external files;
  4. there must be no stop statement.

recursive procedures

If recursion is required, a procedure must be declared with the recursive prefix. E.g.,

FORTRAN 

recursive function fibonacci(n) result(nf)
  ! ... implementation...
  nf = fibonacci(n-1) + fibonacci(n-2)
end function fibonacci

Such a declaration must be included for both types of recursion: direct (a procedure calling itself) and indirect (a procedure calling another which in turn calls the first).

Subroutines

Subroutines follow the same rules as functions, except that there is no result() suffix specification:

FORTRAN 

[prefix] subroutine subroutine-name (dummy-arg-list)
  [ specification-part ]
  [ executable-part ]
end [ subroutine [subroutine-name] ]

return statement

One may have a return statement to indicate that control should be returned to the caller, but it is not necessary (the end statement does the same job). We will use return when we consider error handling later.

Placing procedures in modules

It is very often a good idea to include your procedures within modules beneath the contains statement. Aside from leading to good organisation of code, this has an extra advantage in that the compiler will then automatically generate the contract block (forward declaration or prototype) for the procedure as part of the module. This can make it easier when using certain types of procedures (such as those with allocatable dummy arguments) or in certain contexts (such as passing the procedure as an argument).

Exercise (5 minutes)

Challenge

Gauss and Legendre met Fibonacci

  1. Can your function for the evaluation of pi from the previous episodes safely be declared pure? You can also use the accompanying template exercise_module1.f90 and exercise_program1.f90 to check.
  2. Add a new version of this calculation: a subroutine which takes the number of terms as an argument, and also returns the computed value in the argument list.
  3. Add to the module a recursive function to compute the nth Fibonacci number, and test it in the main code. See, for example the page at Wikipedia.

Solutions are available in solution_program1.f90 and solution_module1.f90.

Key Points
  • Functions and subroutines are referred to collectively as _procedures_.
  • Using intent for dummy variables allows control over whether updates to their values are permitted.
  • Procedures can be modified with prefixes such as pure and recursive which ensure respectively that the procedure has no side-effects and that it is able to directly or indirectly call itself.
  • Procedures may be defined as module sub-programs for which the compiler will automatically generate the contract block as part of the module file.