How to cross-reference Fortran entities

This guide shows how to create reliable, clickable links between Fortran entities.

Reference by entity name

Use the role that matches the entity type. For a function:

reStructuredText

See :f:func:`compute` for the algorithm.

MyST

See {f:func}`compute` for the algorithm.

This renders as

See compute for the algorithm.

For the full list of roles, see the Roles reference.

Reference an entity in another module

Use dot-separated qualified names:

reStructuredText

Uses :f:func:`physics.kinetic_energy` internally.

MyST

Uses {f:func}`physics.kinetic_energy` internally.

This renders as

Uses physics.kinetic_energy internally.

If a f:currentmodule is active, unqualified names are searched in that module first.

Handle case-insensitive names

Fortran is case-insensitive, and so are sphinx-ford cross-references. All of these resolve to the same entity:

reStructuredText

:f:mod:`MY_MODULE`
:f:mod:`my_module`
:f:mod:`My_Module`

MyST

{f:mod}`MY_MODULE`
{f:mod}`my_module`
{f:mod}`My_Module`

This renders as:

MY_MODULE my_module My_Module

Reference type components

Type components (f:member) and bound procedures (f:boundproc) are qualified through their parent module, not the type:

reStructuredText

:f:mem:`my_module.component_name`

MyST

{f:mem}`my_module.component_name`

This renders as:

my_module.component_name