# MPI_Type_create_indexed_block

Creates an indexed datatype with constant sized blocks

## Synopsis

    #include "mpi.h"
    int MPI_Type_create_indexed_block(
            int count,
            int blocklength,
            int array_of_displacements[],
            MPI_Datatype old_type,
            MPI_Datatype *newtype )

## Input Parameters

| count | number of blocks -- also number of entries in indices and blocklens
| blocklength | number of elements in each block (integer)
| array_of_displacements | displacement of each block in multiples of old_type (array of integer)
| old_type | old datatype (handle)

## Output Parameter

newtype
  new datatype (handle)

## Notes for Fortran

All MPI routines in Fortran (except for `MPI_WTIME` and `MPI_WTICK`) have an additional argument `ierr` at the end of the argument list. `ierr` is an integer and has the same meaning as the return value of the routine in C. In Fortran, MPI routines are subroutines, and are invoked with the `call` statement.

All MPI objects (e.g., `MPI_Datatype`, `MPI_Comm`) are of type `INTEGER` in Fortran.

The indices are displacements, and are based on a zero origin. A common error is to do something like to following

        integer a(100)
        integer blens(10), indices(10)
        do i=1,10
    10       indices(i) = 1 + (i-1)*10
        call MPI_TYPE_CREATE_INDEXED_BLOCK(10,1,indices,MPI_INTEGER,newtype,ierr)
        call MPI_TYPE_COMMIT(newtype,ierr)
        call MPI_SEND(a,1,newtype,...)

expecting this to send `a(1),a(11),...` because the indices have values `1,11,...`. Because these are displacements from the beginning of `a`, it actually sends `a(1+1),a(1+11),...`.

If you wish to consider the displacements as indices into a Fortran array, consider declaring the Fortran array with a zero origin

        integer a(0:99)

## Errors

All MPI routines (except `MPI_Wtime` and `MPI_Wtick`) return an error value; C routines as the value of the function and Fortran routines in the last argument. Before the value is returned, the current MPI error handler is called. By default, this error handler aborts the MPI job. The error handler may be changed with `MPI_Errhandler_set`; the predefined error handler `MPI_ERRORS_RETURN` may be used to cause error values to be returned. Note that MPI does not guarentee that an MPI program can continue past an error.

MPI_ERR_COUNT
  Invalid count argument. Count arguments must be non-negative; a count of zero is often valid.

MPI_ERR_TYPE
  Invalid datatype argument. May be an uncommitted MPI_Datatype (see `MPI_Type_commit`).

MPI_ERR_ARG
  Invalid argument. Some argument is invalid and is not identified by a specific error class (e.g., `MPI_ERR_RANK`).

MPI_ERR_INTERN
  This error is returned when some part of the MPICH implementation is unable to acquire memory.

Location:type_blkind.c