macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install ratforlocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew / rank 9646
Install ratfor with Homebrew, apt
Rational Fortran. Version 1.07 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-14. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install ratfor.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install ratforDebian stable package indexes · ratfor · source: deb.debian.org
overview
Package summary
Rational Fortran
Project links
Commands and aliases
- ratfor
history
Project history and usage
Ratfor, short for Rational FORTRAN, is a preprocessor that translates structured Ratfor source into FORTRAN 77. The maintained Linux Ratfor distribution descends from a public-domain version 1.0 and remains public domain.
Project history
Ratfor became widely known through Brian Kernighan and P. J. Plauger's classic `Software Tools`, where it provided a more structured notation over portable Fortran. The current Linux Ratfor lineage derives from work attributed to Oz, Ken Yap, W. Bauske of IBM, and the Stanford Exploration Project.
The Linux maintainer converted the implementation to ANSI C, added prototypes and GNU Autoconf support, and released it as 1.01 in 2001. Later releases integrated Debian fixes, repaired the string directive, improved FORTRAN 77 data-statement ordering, and addressed buffer overruns through version 1.07 in 2025.
Adoption history
Ratfor's durable niche is legacy and educational Fortran tooling. The supplied package metadata records packages in Homebrew, Debian, and Ubuntu, while the official project page distributes source tarballs and RPMs.
How it is used
A user runs `ratfor` to preprocess Rational FORTRAN into FORTRAN 77, then compiles the generated code with a compatible compiler such as GNU Fortran. It is a translation step rather than a compiler or runtime of its own.
Why package nerds care
Ratfor is a compact example of source-to-source portability culture: a structured-language layer from the `Software Tools` tradition kept useful by small maintenance releases and distribution patches decades later.
Timeline
- 1976: Ratfor was used in the published `Software Tools` text.
- 2001: Linux Ratfor 1.01 converted the source to ANSI C and GNU Autoconf.
- 2015: Version 1.03 incorporated Debian changes and a Debian bug fix.
- 2025: Version 1.07 hardened include processing against buffer overruns.
Related projects
- GNU Fortran can compile Ratfor's FORTRAN 77 output, and the Stanford Exploration Project is part of the ancestry documented for the maintained public-domain implementation.
Sources
- https://dgate.org/cgit.cgi/ratfor.git
- https://www.dgate.org/ratfor/
- source_facts.package-manager
security posture
Risk level: green
narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.
Risk classifier
green risk · low confidence · appliance
Why
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals
Signals
- metadata:no-higher-risk-signals
Install behavior
- No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 8 platform targets.
- Installs with 1 runtime dependencies.
Recommended review
Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
ratfor | cli | global executable |
freshness
Version and freshness
These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.
page generated2026-08-04
manager version1.07
manager updated2026-06-14
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
- infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.http://www.dgate.org/ratfor/none confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:ratfor |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.07 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/ratfor |
| Homepage | http://www.dgate.org/ratfor/ |
| Upstream docs | http://www.dgate.org/ratfor/ |
| License | LicenseRef-Homebrew-public-domain |
| Source archive | https://deb.debian.org/debian/pool/main/r/ratfor/ratfor_1.07.orig.tar.gz |
| Last updated | 2026-06-14T15:13:45+02:00 |
| Pulse | updated |
| Dependencies | gcc |
| Bottle | available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, sonoma, ventura, x86_64_linux) |
| Homebrew post-install | not defined |
| Service | none declared |
registry facts
Source database details
| Source Database | Homebrew formula API |
|---|---|
| Tap | homebrew/core |
| Full Name | ratfor |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 0 |
| Bottle Stable Root URL | https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core |
| Deprecated | no |
| Disabled | no |
| Keg Only | no |
| URL Keys |
|
source database matches
Other package-manager records
Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.
Debian apt95%
ratfor 1.07-1
Rational Fortran preprocessor for Fortran 77
sudo apt install ratfor- Section: devel
- Architecture: amd64
- 1 dependencies
- 3 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Ratfor
Ubuntu apt95%
ratfor 1.05-2
Rational Fortran preprocessor for Fortran 77
sudo apt install ratfor- Section: universe/devel
- Architecture: amd64
- 1 dependencies
- 3 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Ratfor
source trail
Generated from repository data
This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.
Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub.
Used sources
- Geiger risk classifier
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated package history
- external package-manager database matches
- package relationship graph
- package version freshness
- package-page enrichment
- pkg.so package database
- pkgdb category and tag curation