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(g77-295.info)Statements Comments Lines

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Statements, Comments, and Lines
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   (Corresponds to Section 2.3 of ANSI X3.9-1978 FORTRAN 77.)

   Use of an exclamation point (`!') to begin a trailing comment (a
comment that extends to the end of the same source line) is permitted
under the following conditions:

   * The exclamation point does not appear in column 6.  Otherwise, it
     is treated as an indicator of a continuation line.

   * The exclamation point appears outside a character or Hollerith
     constant.  Otherwise, the exclamation point is considered part of
     the constant.

   * The exclamation point appears to the left of any other possible
     trailing comment.  That is, a trailing comment may contain
     exclamation points in their commentary text.

   Use of a semicolon (`;') as a statement separator is permitted under
the following conditions:

   * The semicolon appears outside a character or Hollerith constant.
     Otherwise, the semicolon is considered part of the constant.

   * The semicolon appears to the left of a trailing comment.
     Otherwise, the semicolon is considered part of that comment.

   * Neither a logical `IF' statement nor a non-construct `WHERE'
     statement (a Fortran 90 feature) may be followed (in the same,
     possibly continued, line) by a semicolon used as a statement
     separator.

     This restriction avoids the confusion that can result when reading
     a line such as:

          IF (VALIDP) CALL FOO; CALL BAR

     Some readers might think the `CALL BAR' is executed only if
     `VALIDP' is `.TRUE.', while others might assume its execution is
     unconditional.

     (At present, `g77' does not diagnose code that violates this
     restriction.)