Need to know a few things first

Platform: Unix, Windows, VMS etc
Fortran: 77, 90, 95
Vendor: Compaq, Silverfrost, GNU

Do you need it to be interactive or just something that prints?

What kind of plot is it?  A graph, a picture (like isotherms on a pipe) or some specialist thing like an engineering drawing?

Is Fortran your only choice of language or can you use others?

Hallo xwb,

Platform: Windows xp professional
Fortran: 90
Vendor: Compaq

I would like to read the data from a text file and then plot them in a 2D graph. I'm using fortran cause I want to create an interface with abaqus in order to make my plot iteratively.
what I want to do is this:

1 With fortran write an input file for abaqus
2 Launch Abaqus from the main program of fortran
3 Read the output results of abaquas with fortran
4 Launch gnuplot from fortran main program
5 Make the graph
6 Modify the data of the input file for Abaqus
7 Start again from the point 1

In this way I can make more simulation without change manually all the parameters.
I'm stucked at the point 2 and the point 4 that so how to launch a program with fortran. I'm using ti because Abaqus  has different subroutine written in fortran and it could be usefull to use them together.

Thanks,
Albert1981

To launch a program use system.  eg

The actual command you require to launch Abaqus will be something like this (depending on your version of Abaqus) :-

C:\ABAQUS\6.6-1\exec\abq661.exe job="model_file"

where your Abaqus file is model_file.inp

so the fortran will be:-

call system('C:\ABAQUS\6.6-1\exec\abq661.exe job="model_file"')

Dear xwb,

thanks a lot for the advice. I can launch the executable now.
But I can lauch two executable in series, I should close manually the first program and the second will be open. Do you know how can I close it again?
Unfortunatley to run an abaqus input I have to go in the msdos prompt and type:   

abaqus job=inputfile.inp

do you know if in some way I can go in the msdos prompt and then type something like that? Or if I can launch abaqus in other way?

thanks again

thanks a  lot johnhors, I was looking for that.

albert1981