  Floating Point Formats? 
 The Question is:
 
I am writing a fortran program to export data from a codysal database.  Much of
 the data is R8 (Float) and I am writing the data as A8 to get the exact value.
  I have found that the program is writing the data in a non standard float
 format, so when I try
 to read it in on my pc I am getting incorrect data.  Is there any way to write
 this data in IEEE standard format?
 
 The Answer is :
 
  OpenVMS Alpha writes standard-compliant IEEE format floating point.
 
  Alpha is an IEEE floating point system; uses IEEE floating point in
  hardware.
 
  Also check your Fortran compile command for the floating point default.
 
  Floating point conversion routines are available within the OpenVMS
  library, if you wish to convert among various formats.  Note that
  various floating point conversions can decrease data precision.
 
  The OpenVMS Wizard prefers to use text-based formats for interchange,
  including application-specific ASCII and application-independent XML
  formats.  COM, DCOM, ODBC, and JDBC options are also often available
  for databases.
 
 Answer written or last revised on  12-JAN-2003 
