Since Fortran 2003, the intrinsics MINLOC, MAXLOC, MINVAL, MAXVAL allow the array argument to be of CHARACTER type (in addition to INTEGER or REAL).
Currently, only INTEGER and REAL are supported, though. -- Summary: Support CHARACTER argument with MINLOC/MAXLOC/MINVAL/MAXVAL Product: gcc Version: unknown Status: UNCONFIRMED Severity: normal Priority: P3 Component: fortran AssignedTo: unassigned at gcc dot gnu dot org ReportedBy: domob at gcc dot gnu dot org http://gcc.gnu.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=43006