Fortitude: the Fortran linter
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Static analysis tools are used by software developers to better understand and improve their
software, and they achieve this by examining their source code and/or binaries without running
the software. A ‘linter’ is a type of static analysis tool that offers an opinionated critique of
software beyond its syntactic validity, highlighting bug-prone coding patterns, deviations from
common style guides, use of outdated features, and, generally, suggestions to improve the code
in some way.
Fortitude is a linter targeting Fortran, which has hitherto lacked a standard open-source
solution. It is over an order of magnitude faster than other open-source offerings, is highly
customisable, has robust parsing capabilities, can automatically fix many linting issues, and
can integrate either into a CI/CD pipeline or directly into a user’s editor or IDE.
software, and they achieve this by examining their source code and/or binaries without running
the software. A ‘linter’ is a type of static analysis tool that offers an opinionated critique of
software beyond its syntactic validity, highlighting bug-prone coding patterns, deviations from
common style guides, use of outdated features, and, generally, suggestions to improve the code
in some way.
Fortitude is a linter targeting Fortran, which has hitherto lacked a standard open-source
solution. It is over an order of magnitude faster than other open-source offerings, is highly
customisable, has robust parsing capabilities, can automatically fix many linting issues, and
can integrate either into a CI/CD pipeline or directly into a user’s editor or IDE.
Date Issued
2026-07-22
Date Acceptance
2026-07-01
Citation
Journal of Open Source Software, 2026, 11 (123)
ISSN
2475-9066
Publisher
Journal of Open Source Software
Journal / Book Title
Journal of Open Source Software
Volume
11
Issue
123
Copyright Statement
Authors of JOSS papers retain copyright. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
License URL
Identifier
10.21105/joss.10570
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
10570
Date Publish Online
2026-07-22