Procedure with assumed-shape dummy argument must have an explicit interface [duplicate] - function

Question

This question already has an answer here:
Module calling an external procedure with implicit interface
(1 answer)
Closed 5 years ago.
I am completely new to Fortran 90 and I am trying to understand how to pass an array to a function. I looked on the web and I could not find any clear and simple enough example, so I decided to post here.
I would like the function be able to work on an array of any length (the length of the array should not be one of the parameters of the functions).
I tried to write a simple example of a function that returns the sum of the elements of an array:
function mysum(arr)
implicit none
real, dimension(:), intent(in) :: arr
real :: mysum
integer :: i,arrsize
arrsize = size(arr)
mysum=0.0
do i=1,arrsize
mysum=mysum+arr(i)
enddo
end function mysum
program test
implicit none
real, dimension(4) :: a
real :: mysum,a_sum
call random_number(a)
print *,a
a_sum=mysum(a)
print *,a_sum
end program
When I try to compile, I get the following error:
array_test.f90:17.14:
real mysum,a_sum
1
Error: Procedure 'mysum' at (1) with assumed-shape dummy argument 'arr' must have an explicit interface
What is the problem with my program?

Answer 1

Assumed shape dummy arguments (those with (:)) require explicit interface to the procedure to be available at the call site. That means the calling code must know how exactly the subroutine header looks like. See also Module calling an external procedure with implicit interface
That explicit interface can be provided in several ways
1.
preferred - a module procedure
module procedures
implicit none
contains
function mysum(arr)
real, dimension(:), intent(in) :: arr
real :: mysum
integer :: i,arrsize
arrsize = size(arr)
mysum=0.0
do i=1,arrsize
mysum=mysum+arr(i)
enddo
end function mysum
end module
program test
use procedures
implicit none
!no mysum declared here, it comes from the module
...
end program
2.
internal procedure - only for short simple procedures or if the procedure needs access to the host's variables. Because of the access to the host variables it is error-prone.
program test
implicit none
!no a_sum declared here, it is visible below contains
...
contains
function mysum(arr)
!implicit none inherited from the program
real, dimension(:), intent(in) :: arr
real :: mysum
integer :: i,arrsize
arrsize = size(arr)
mysum=0.0
do i=1,arrsize
mysum=mysum+arr(i)
enddo
end function mysum
end program
3.
interface block - not recommended at all, you should have some particular reason to use it
function mysum(arr)
! removed to save space
end function mysum
program test
implicit none
interface
function mysum(arr)
real, dimension(:), intent(in) :: arr
real :: mysum
end function
end interface
!no mysum declared there
!it is declared in the interface block
...
end program