The following general syntax rules apply to all general compiler directives. You must follow these rules precisely to compile your program properly and obtain meaningful results.

A general directive prefix (tag) takes the following form:

 cDEC$

c

Is one of the following: C (or c), !, or *.

The following are source form rules for directive prefixes:

• Prefixes beginning with C (or c) and * are only allowed in fixed and tab source forms.

  In these source forms, the prefix must appear in columns 1 through 5; column 6 must be a blank or tab. From column 7 on, blanks are insignificant, so the directive can be positioned anywhere on the line after column 6. A directive ends in column 72 (or column 132, if a compiler option is specified).

• Prefixes beginning with ! are allowed in all source forms.

  In fixed and tab source forms, a prefix beginning with ! must follow the same rules for prefixes beginning with C, c, or * (see above).

  In free source form, the prefix need not start in column 1, but it cannot be preceded by any nonblank characters on the same line. It can only be preceded by whitespace.

General directives cannot be continued.

A comment can follow a directive on the same line.

Additional Fortran statements (or directives) cannot appear on the same line as the general directive.

General directives cannot appear within a continued Fortran statement.