diff --git a/examples/H5/openclosef.f90 b/examples/H5/openclosef.f90
index 965dbf1..f8f1ea8 100644
--- a/examples/H5/openclosef.f90
+++ b/examples/H5/openclosef.f90
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ program openclose
   call mpi_comm_rank(comm, rank, ierr)
 
   props = h5_createprop_file ()
-  status = h5_setprop_filempio (props, comm)
+  status = h5_setprop_file_mpio_collective (props, comm)
   file_id = h5_openfile ("testfile.h5", H5_O_WRONLY, props)
   status = h5_closeprop (props)
   status = h5_closefile (file_id);
diff --git a/examples/H5/read_file_attribs.c b/examples/H5/read_file_attribs.c
index 505d853..fa60d7e 100644
--- a/examples/H5/read_file_attribs.c
+++ b/examples/H5/read_file_attribs.c
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 #include "H5hut.h"
 
 #define FNAME           "example_file_attribs.h5"
+#define VERBOSITY       H5_VERBOSE_ERROR
 
 #define ATTR_STRING     "FileAttrString"
 #define ATTR_INT32      "FileAttrInt32"
@@ -22,8 +23,11 @@ main (
 	int argc,
 	char** argv
 	) {
-	MPI_Init (&argc, &argv);
         H5AbortOnError ();
+        H5SetVerbosityLevel (VERBOSITY);
+
+	MPI_Init (&argc, &argv);
+
         // if file properties is set to default, MPI_COMM_WORLD will be used
         h5_file_t f = H5OpenFile (FNAME, H5_O_RDONLY, H5_PROP_DEFAULT);
         h5_size_t len;
@@ -74,7 +78,7 @@ main (
         printf ("\n");
         free (attr_float64);
 
-
+        // cleanup
 	H5CloseFile (f);
 	MPI_Finalize ();
 	return 0;
diff --git a/examples/H5/read_file_attribsf.f90 b/examples/H5/read_file_attribsf.f90
index 356204d..9dd66d7 100644
--- a/examples/H5/read_file_attribsf.f90
+++ b/examples/H5/read_file_attribsf.f90
@@ -16,7 +16,11 @@
     ! the file name we want to read
     character (len=*), parameter :: FNAME =               "example_file_attribs.h5"
 
-    ! verbosity level: set it to a power of 2 minus one or zero
+    ! verbosity level: set it to
+    ! - 1 to see error messages, if something goes wrong
+    ! - 0 to get no output
+    ! - a power of 2 minus one to get lot of output
+    ! zeror zero
     integer*8, parameter :: verbosity_level =             1
 
     ! we know the attribute names!
diff --git a/examples/H5Part/Makefile.am b/examples/H5Part/Makefile.am
index 9db0b0b..1749bad 100644
--- a/examples/H5Part/Makefile.am
+++ b/examples/H5Part/Makefile.am
@@ -19,32 +19,37 @@ noinst_PROGRAMS =
 
 if ENABLE_C
 noinst_PROGRAMS +=		\
-	Bench			\
-	H5test			\
-	core_vfd		\
-	particles		\
 	read_canonicalview	\
-	write_setnumparticles	\
-	write_setview
+	read_setnparticles	\
+	read_setview		\
+	read_strided		\
+	use_core_vfd		\
+	write_setnparticles	\
+	write_setview		\
+	write_strided
 endif
 
 if ENABLE_FORTRAN
-noinst_PROGRAMS += H5testF
+noinst_PROGRAMS +=		\
+	read_canonicalviewf	\
+	read_setnparticlesf	\
+	read_setviewf		\
+	read_stridedf		\
+	use_core_vfd		\
+	write_setnparticlesf	\
+	write_setviewf		\
+	write_stridedf
 endif
 
-EXTRA_PROGRAMS = Bench H5test H5testF
+EXTRA_PROGRAMS = 
 
-Bench_SOURCES = Bench.c
-H5test_SOURCES = H5test.c
-core_vfd_SOURCES = core_vfd.c
-particles_SOURCES = particles.c
-read_canonicalview_SOURCES = read_canonicalview.c
-write_setnumparticles_SOURCES = write_setnumparticles.c
-write_setview_SOURCES = write_setview.c
-H5testF_SOURCES = H5testF.f90
+write_setviewf_SOURCES = write_setviewf.f90
+write_stridedf_SOURCES = write_stridedf.f90
 
 %.o : %.f90
 	$(FC)  $(FFLAGS) -c $<
 
 clean-local:
 	$(RM) *~
+
+
diff --git a/examples/H5Part/read_canonicalview.c b/examples/H5Part/read_canonicalview.c
index bb142a3..1d8ee2e 100644
--- a/examples/H5Part/read_canonicalview.c
+++ b/examples/H5Part/read_canonicalview.c
@@ -1,20 +1,28 @@
+/*
+  Copyright (c) 2006-2013, The Regents of the University of California,
+  through Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (subject to receipt of any
+  required approvals from the U.S. Dept. of Energy) and the Paul Scherrer
+  Institut (Switzerland).  All rights reserved.
+
+  License: see file COPYING in top level of source distribution.
+*/
 
-#include <stdlib.h>
 #include "H5hut.h"
 
+#define FNAME           "example_particles.h5"
+
 int
 main (
         int argc, char* argv[]
         ){
-        h5_file_t file;
-        int nprocs, myproc;
-        MPI_Comm comm = MPI_COMM_WORLD;
+        H5AbortOnError ();
+        H5SetVerbosityLevel (VERBOSITY);
 
+        int myproc;
         MPI_Init (&argc, &argv);
-        MPI_Comm_size (comm, &nprocs);
-        MPI_Comm_rank (comm, &myproc);
-        H5SetVerbosityLevel (4);
-        file = H5OpenFile ("parttest.h5", H5_O_RDONLY, comm);
+        MPI_Comm_rank (MPI_COMM_WORLD, &myproc);
+
+        h5_file_t file = H5OpenFile (FNAME, H5_O_RDONLY, H5_PROP_DEFAULT);
 
         H5SetStep (file, 0);
   
@@ -22,6 +30,6 @@ main (
         h5_int64_t num_particles = H5PartGetNumParticles (file);
         printf ("[proc %d]: particles in view: %lld\n", myproc, num_particles);
 
-        H5CloseFile(file);
-        return MPI_Finalize();
+        H5CloseFile (file);
+        return MPI_Finalize ();
 }
diff --git a/examples/H5Part/read_setnparticles.c b/examples/H5Part/read_setnparticles.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..22ae0ac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/H5Part/read_setnparticles.c
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+/*
+  Copyright (c) 2006-2013, The Regents of the University of California,
+  through Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (subject to receipt of any
+  required approvals from the U.S. Dept. of Energy) and the Paul Scherrer
+  Institut (Switzerland).  All rights reserved.
+
+  License: see file COPYING in top level of source distribution.
+*/
+
+#include "H5hut.h"
+
+#define FNAME           "example_setnparticles.h5"
+
+int
+main (
+        int argc, char* argv[]
+        ){
+        // initialize MPI & H5hut
+        MPI_Init (&argc, &argv);
+        MPI_Comm comm = MPI_COMM_WORLD;
+        int comm_rank = 0;
+        MPI_Comm_rank (comm, &comm_rank);
+        int comm_size = 0;
+        MPI_Comm_size (comm, &comm_size);
+        H5AbortOnError ();
+        H5SetVerbosityLevel (H5_VERBOSE_INFO);
+
+        // open file and open step #0
+        h5_file_t file = H5OpenFile (FNAME, H5_O_RDONLY, H5_PROP_DEFAULT);
+        H5SetStep (file, 0);
+
+        // compute number of particles this process has to read
+        h5_ssize_t nparticels_total = H5PartGetNumParticles (file);
+        
+        h5_ssize_t nparticels = nparticels_total / comm_size;
+        if (comm_rank+1 == comm_size)
+                nparticels += nparticels_total % comm_size;
+
+        h5_info ("Total number of particles: %lld", (long long unsigned)nparticels_total);
+        h5_info ("Number of particles on this core: %lld", (long long unsigned)nparticels);
+
+        // read data
+        H5PartSetNumParticles (file, nparticels);
+        h5_int32_t* data = calloc (nparticels, sizeof (*data));
+        H5PartReadDataInt32 (file, "data", data);
+
+        // cleanup
+        H5CloseFile (file);
+        return MPI_Finalize ();
+}
diff --git a/examples/H5Part/read_setview.c b/examples/H5Part/read_setview.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..18e2859
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/H5Part/read_setview.c
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+/*
+  Copyright (c) 2006-2013, The Regents of the University of California,
+  through Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (subject to receipt of any
+  required approvals from the U.S. Dept. of Energy) and the Paul Scherrer
+  Institut (Switzerland).  All rights reserved.
+
+  License: see file COPYING in top level of source distribution.
+*/
+
+#include "H5hut.h"
+#include "examples.h"
+
+#define FNAME           "example_particles.h5"
+
+int
+main (
+        int argc, char* argv[]
+        ){
+        H5AbortOnError ();
+        H5SetVerbosityLevel (VERBOSITY);
+
+        int myproc;
+        MPI_Init (&argc, &argv);
+        MPI_Comm_rank (MPI_COMM_WORLD, &myproc);
+
+        h5_file_t file = H5OpenFile (FNAME, H5_O_RDONLY, H5_PROP_DEFAULT);
+
+        H5SetStep (file, 0);
+
+        // TODO
+  
+        H5CloseFile (file);
+        return MPI_Finalize ();
+}
diff --git a/examples/H5Part/read_strided.c b/examples/H5Part/read_strided.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..18e2859
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/H5Part/read_strided.c
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+/*
+  Copyright (c) 2006-2013, The Regents of the University of California,
+  through Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (subject to receipt of any
+  required approvals from the U.S. Dept. of Energy) and the Paul Scherrer
+  Institut (Switzerland).  All rights reserved.
+
+  License: see file COPYING in top level of source distribution.
+*/
+
+#include "H5hut.h"
+#include "examples.h"
+
+#define FNAME           "example_particles.h5"
+
+int
+main (
+        int argc, char* argv[]
+        ){
+        H5AbortOnError ();
+        H5SetVerbosityLevel (VERBOSITY);
+
+        int myproc;
+        MPI_Init (&argc, &argv);
+        MPI_Comm_rank (MPI_COMM_WORLD, &myproc);
+
+        h5_file_t file = H5OpenFile (FNAME, H5_O_RDONLY, H5_PROP_DEFAULT);
+
+        H5SetStep (file, 0);
+
+        // TODO
+  
+        H5CloseFile (file);
+        return MPI_Finalize ();
+}
diff --git a/examples/H5Part/use_core_cfd.c b/examples/H5Part/use_core_cfd.c
index b6cf914..bf81ede 100644
--- a/examples/H5Part/use_core_cfd.c
+++ b/examples/H5Part/use_core_cfd.c
@@ -1,14 +1,28 @@
+/*
+  Copyright (c) 2006-2013, The Regents of the University of California,
+  through Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (subject to receipt of any
+  required approvals from the U.S. Dept. of Energy) and the Paul Scherrer
+  Institut (Switzerland).  All rights reserved.
+
+  License: see file COPYING in top level of source distribution.
+*/
+
+#include "H5hut.h"
+#include "examples.h"
+
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <assert.h>
-#include <mpi.h>
-#include <H5hut.h>
 
+#define FNAME           "example_core_vfd"
 #define DATASIZE 32
 
-int main(
-        int argc, char** argv
-        ) {
-        int i, rank, nprocs;
+int
+main (
+        int argc, char* argv[]
+        ){
+        H5AbortOnError ();
+        H5SetVerbosityLevel (VERBOSITY);
+
         h5_int32_t data[DATASIZE];
         h5_int64_t stat;
         h5_file_t file;
@@ -18,31 +32,25 @@ int main(
         MPI_Comm_rank (MPI_COMM_WORLD, &rank);
         MPI_Comm_size (MPI_COMM_WORLD, &nprocs);
 
-        H5SetVerbosityLevel (1);
-
-        char filename[8];
-        sprintf (filename, "%d.h5", rank);
+        char filename[32];
+        sprintf (filename, "%s.%d.h5", FNAME, rank);
         file = H5OpenFile (filename, H5_O_WRONLY|H5_VFD_CORE, MPI_COMM_SELF);
-        assert (file != H5_FAILURE);
 
-        stat = H5SetStep (file, 0);
-        assert (stat == H5_SUCCESS);
+        H5SetStep (file, 0);
 
-        stat = H5PartSetNumParticles(file, DATASIZE);
-        assert (stat == H5_SUCCESS);
+        H5PartSetNumParticles(file, DATASIZE);
 
         // create fake data
-        for (i=0; i<DATASIZE; i++) {
+        for (int i = 0; i < DATASIZE; i++) {
                 data[i] = i + rank * DATASIZE;
         }
 
         // write the data
-        stat = H5PartWriteDataInt32(file, "data", data);
-        assert (stat == H5_SUCCESS);
+        H5PartWriteDataInt32 (file, "data", data);
         
-        H5CloseFile(file);
+        H5CloseFile (file);
 
-        MPI_Finalize();
+        MPI_Finalize ();
         return H5_SUCCESS;
 }
 
diff --git a/examples/H5Part/write_setnparticles.c b/examples/H5Part/write_setnparticles.c
index 3694bf2..9c30e7f 100644
--- a/examples/H5Part/write_setnparticles.c
+++ b/examples/H5Part/write_setnparticles.c
@@ -1,38 +1,49 @@
+/*
+  Copyright (c) 2006-2013, The Regents of the University of California,
+  through Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (subject to receipt of any
+  required approvals from the U.S. Dept. of Energy) and the Paul Scherrer
+  Institut (Switzerland).  All rights reserved.
+
+  License: see file COPYING in top level of source distribution.
+*/
 
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include "H5hut.h"
 
-#define NUM_PARTICLES 3
+#define FNAME           "example_setnparticles.h5"
+#define NUM_PARTICLES   3
 
 int
 main (
         int argc,
         char* argv[]
         ){
-        h5_file_t file;
-        int nprocs = 0;
-        int myproc = 0;
-        int step = 0;
-
+        // initialize MPI & H5hut
+        MPI_Init (&argc, &argv);
         MPI_Comm comm = MPI_COMM_WORLD;
+        int rank = 0;
+        MPI_Comm_rank (comm, &rank);
+        H5AbortOnError ();
+        H5SetVerbosityLevel (-1);
 
-        MPI_Init (&argc,&argv);
-        MPI_Comm_size (comm,&nprocs);
-        MPI_Comm_rank (comm,&myproc);
-
-        h5_int64_t id[NUM_PARTICLES];
+        // create fake data
+        h5_int32_t data[NUM_PARTICLES];
         h5_int64_t num_particles = NUM_PARTICLES;
-
         for (int i = 0; i < num_particles; i++) {
-                id[i] = i + num_particles * myproc;
+                data[i] = i + num_particles * rank;
         }
 
+        // open file and create step #0
+        h5_file_t file = H5OpenFile (FNAME, H5_O_WRONLY, H5_PROP_DEFAULT);
+        H5SetStep (file, 0); 
 
-        file = H5OpenFile ("parttest.h5", H5_O_WRONLY, comm);
-        H5SetStep (file, step); 
-        H5PartSetNumParticles (file,num_particles);
-        H5PartWriteDataInt64 (file, "id", id);
+        // define number of items this process will write
+        H5PartSetNumParticles (file, num_particles);
+
+        // write data
+        H5PartWriteDataInt32 (file, "data", data);
+
+        // done
         H5CloseFile(file);
-
-        MPI_Finalize ();
+        return MPI_Finalize ();
 }
diff --git a/examples/H5Part/write_setnparticlesf.f90 b/examples/H5Part/write_setnparticlesf.f90
index 7720dee..e4f4f96 100644
--- a/examples/H5Part/write_setnparticlesf.f90
+++ b/examples/H5Part/write_setnparticlesf.f90
@@ -1,56 +1,51 @@
-program H5PartTest
-  implicit none
+!
+!  Copyright (c) 2006-2013, The Regents of the University of California,
+!  through Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (subject to receipt of any
+!  required approvals from the U.S. Dept. of Energy) and the Paul Scherrer
+!  Institut (Switzerland).  All rights reserved.!
+!
+!  License: see file COPYING in top level of source distribution.
+!
+include 'H5hut.f90'
 
+program write_setnparticles
+  use H5hut
+  implicit none
   include 'mpif.h'
-  include 'H5PartF.h'
+
+  ! the file name we want to read
+  character (len=*), parameter :: FNAME =       "example_setnparticles.h5"
+  integer*8, parameter :: NPOINTS =             99
 
   integer :: comm, rank, ierr
-  integer*8 :: file_id, status, npoints, i
-  real*8, allocatable :: particles(:)
-  integer*8, allocatable :: id(:)
-  real*8 :: r8val
-  integer*8 :: i8val
+  integer*8 :: file, i, status
+  integer*4, allocatable :: data(:)
 
+  ! init MPI & H5hut
   comm = MPI_COMM_WORLD
   call mpi_init(ierr)
   call mpi_comm_rank(comm, rank, ierr)
-
-  ! open the a file for parallel writing
-  file_id = h5pt_set_verbosity_level(5)
-  file_id = h5pt_openw_par('test.h5', comm)
-
-  ! in the Fortran API, time steps start at 1
-  status = h5pt_setstep(file_id, 1_8)
-
-  ! write an attribute to the file
-  status = h5pt_writefileattrib_string(file_id, 'desc', 'This is a test.')
-
-  r8val = 0.5
-  i8val = 1
-  status = h5pt_writefileattrib_r8(file_id, 'double', r8val, i8val)
+  call h5_abort_on_error ()
 
   ! create fake data
-  npoints = 99
-  allocate(particles(npoints), id(npoints))
-  do i=1,npoints
-    particles(i) = real(i+npoints*rank)
-    id(i) = i+npoints*rank
+  allocate (data (NPOINTS))
+  do i = 1, NPOINTS
+    data (i) = i + NPOINTS*rank
   enddo
 
+  ! open the a file for parallel writing and ceate step #0
+  file = h5_openfile (FNAME, H5_O_WRONLY, H5_PROP_DEFAULT)
+  status = h5_setstep(file, 0_8)
+
   ! set the size of the 1D array
-  status = h5pt_setnpoints(file_id, npoints)
+  status = h5pt_setnpoints (file, npoints)
 
   ! write the particles
-  status = h5pt_writedata_r8(file_id, "x",  particles)
+  status = h5pt_writedata_i4 (file, "data", data)
 
-  ! write the ids
-  status = h5pt_writedata_i8(file_id, "id", id)
+  ! cleanup
+  status = h5_closefile (file)
+  deallocate (data)
+  call mpi_finalize (ierr)
 
-  ! close the file
-  status = h5pt_close(file_id)
-
-  deallocate(particles, id)
-
-  call mpi_finalize(ierr)
-
-end program H5PartTest
+end program write_setnparticles
diff --git a/examples/H5Part/write_setview.c b/examples/H5Part/write_setview.c
index a3c8765..3dd34f4 100644
--- a/examples/H5Part/write_setview.c
+++ b/examples/H5Part/write_setview.c
@@ -1,57 +1,60 @@
-#include <stdlib.h>
-#include <assert.h>
-#include <mpi.h>
-#include <H5hut.h>
+/*
+  Copyright (c) 2006-2013, The Regents of the University of California,
+  through Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (subject to receipt of any
+  required approvals from the U.S. Dept. of Energy) and the Paul Scherrer
+  Institut (Switzerland).  All rights reserved.
 
-#define DATASIZE 32
-#define ITERS 4
+  License: see file COPYING in top level of source distribution.
+*/
+
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include "H5hut.h"
+
+#define FNAME           "example_setview.h5"
+#define DATASIZE        32
+#define ITERS           4
 
 int main (
         int argc, char** argv
         ) {
-        int i, rank, nprocs;
-        h5_int32_t data[ITERS*DATASIZE];
-        h5_int64_t stat;
-        h5_int64_t offset;
-        h5_file_t file;
-        
-        // initialize MPI
+        h5_int64_t npoints = ITERS*DATASIZE
+
+        // initialize MPI & H5hut
         MPI_Init (&argc, &argv);
-        MPI_Comm_rank (MPI_COMM_WORLD, &rank);
-        MPI_Comm_size (MPI_COMM_WORLD, &nprocs);
+        MPI_Comm comm = MPI_COMM_WORLD;
+        int rank = 0;
+        MPI_Comm_rank (comm, &rank);
 
-        H5SetVerbosityLevel(1);
-
-        file = H5OpenFile ("test.h5", H5_O_WRONLY, MPI_COMM_WORLD);
-        assert (file != H5_FAILURE);
-
-        stat = H5SetStep(file, 0);
-        assert (stat == H5_SUCCESS);
-
-        stat = H5PartSetNumParticles(file, ITERS*DATASIZE);
-        assert (stat == H5_SUCCESS);
+        H5AbortOnError ();
 
         // create fake data
-        for (i=0; i<ITERS*DATASIZE; i++) {
-                data[i] = i + rank * ITERS * DATASIZE;
+        h5_int32_t data[ITERS*DATASIZE];
+        for (int i = 0; i < npoints; i++) {
+                data[i] = i + rank*npoints;
         }
 
-        offset = rank * ITERS * DATASIZE;
+        // open file and create step #0
+        h5_file_t file = H5OpenFile (FNAME, H5_O_WRONLY, H5_PROP_DEFAULT);
+        H5SetStep(file, 0);
 
-        // iterate over arrays
-        for (i=0; i<ITERS; i++) {
+        // before we can start writing, we have to define the number of
+        // items this processor will write
+        H5PartSetNumParticles(file, npoints);
+
+        // write ITER consecutive blocks of size DATASIZE
+        h5_int64_t offset = rank * npoints;
+        for (int i = 0; i < ITERS; i++) {
                 // set the "view" to select a subset of the dataset
-                stat = H5PartSetView (file,
-                                      offset + i * DATASIZE,
-                                      offset + (i+1) * DATASIZE - 1);
-                assert (stat == H5_SUCCESS);
+                H5PartSetView (
+                        file,
+                        offset + i * DATASIZE,
+                        offset + (i+1) * DATASIZE - 1);
                 // write the data
-                stat = H5PartWriteDataInt32 (file, "data", data + i*DATASIZE);
-                assert (stat == H5_SUCCESS);
+                H5PartWriteDataInt32 (file, "data", data + i*DATASIZE);
         }
-        
+
+        // done
         H5CloseFile(file);
-        
         MPI_Finalize();
         return H5_SUCCESS;
 }
diff --git a/examples/H5Part/write_setviewf.f90 b/examples/H5Part/write_setviewf.f90
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b6a653e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/H5Part/write_setviewf.f90
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+!
+!  Copyright (c) 2006-2013, The Regents of the University of California,
+!  through Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (subject to receipt of any
+!  required approvals from the U.S. Dept. of Energy) and the Paul Scherrer
+!  Institut (Switzerland).  All rights reserved.!
+!
+!  License: see file COPYING in top level of source distribution.
+!
+include 'H5hut.f90'
+
+program write_setview
+  use H5hut
+  implicit none
+  include 'mpif.h'
+
+  ! the file name we want to read
+  character (len=*), parameter :: FNAME =       "example_setview.h5"
+  integer*8, parameter :: DATASIZE =            32
+  integer*8, parameter :: ITERS =               4
+
+  integer*4, parameter :: npoints =             ITERS*DATASIZE
+
+  integer :: comm, rank, ierr
+  integer*8 :: file, status
+  integer*4 :: i
+  integer*4, allocatable :: data(:)
+  integer*8 start, end, offset
+
+  ! init MPI & H5hut
+  comm = MPI_COMM_WORLD
+  call mpi_init(ierr)
+  call mpi_comm_rank(comm, rank, ierr)
+  call h5_abort_on_error ()
+  call h5_set_verbosity_level (-1_8)
+
+
+  ! create fake data
+  allocate (data (npoints))
+  do i = 1, npoints
+    data (i) = i + rank*npoints
+  enddo
+
+  ! open the a file for parallel writing and ceate step #0
+  file = h5_openfile (FNAME, H5_O_WRONLY, H5_PROP_DEFAULT)
+  status = h5_setstep(file, 0_8)
+
+  ! set the size of the 1D array
+  status = h5pt_setnpoints (file, int8(npoints))
+
+  offset = rank*npoints
+  do i = 1, ITERS
+     start = offset + 1 + (i-1)*DATASIZE
+     end = offset + i*DATASIZE 
+     status = h5pt_setview (file, start, end)
+     ! write the particles
+     status = h5pt_writedata_i4 (file, "data", data ((i-1)*DATASIZE+1))
+  end do
+
+  ! cleanup
+  status = h5_closefile (file)
+  deallocate (data)
+  call mpi_finalize (ierr)
+
+end program write_setview
diff --git a/examples/H5Part/write_strided.c b/examples/H5Part/write_strided.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e4e656f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/H5Part/write_strided.c
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+/*
+  Copyright (c) 2006-2013, The Regents of the University of California,
+  through Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (subject to receipt of any
+  required approvals from the U.S. Dept. of Energy) and the Paul Scherrer
+  Institut (Switzerland).  All rights reserved.
+
+  License: see file COPYING in top level of source distribution.
+*/
+
+#include "H5hut.h"
+
+#define FNAME           "example_strided.h5"
+#define NPOINTS         99
+
+int
+main (
+	int argc,
+	char** argv
+	) {
+        // MPI & H5hut init
+	MPI_Init (&argc, &argv);
+        int rank;
+        MPI_Comm comm = MPI_COMM_WORLD;
+        MPI_Comm_rank (comm, &rank);
+        H5AbortOnError ();
+
+        // create fake data
+        h5_float64_t particles[6*NPOINTS];
+        h5_int64_t id[NPOINTS];
+        for (int i = 0; i < NPOINTS; i++) {
+                particles [6*i + 0] = 0.0 + i + NPOINTS * rank;
+                particles [6*i + 1] = 0.1 + i + NPOINTS * rank;
+                particles [6*i + 2] = 0.2 + i + NPOINTS * rank;
+                particles [6*i + 3] = 0.3 + i + NPOINTS * rank;
+                particles [6*i + 4] = 0.4 + i + NPOINTS * rank;
+                particles [6*i + 5] = 0.5 + i + NPOINTS * rank;
+                id [i] = i + NPOINTS * rank;
+        }
+
+        // open file with MPI_COMM_WORLD and create step #0
+        h5_file_t file = H5OpenFile (FNAME, H5_O_WRONLY, H5_PROP_DEFAULT);
+        H5SetStep (file, 0);
+
+        // define number of items this processor will write and set the
+        // in-memory striding
+        H5PartSetNumParticlesStrided (file, NPOINTS, 6);
+
+        // write strided data
+        H5PartWriteDataFloat64 (file, "x",  particles+0);
+        H5PartWriteDataFloat64 (file, "y",  particles+1);
+        H5PartWriteDataFloat64 (file, "z",  particles+2);
+        H5PartWriteDataFloat64 (file, "px", particles+3);
+        H5PartWriteDataFloat64 (file, "py", particles+4);
+        H5PartWriteDataFloat64 (file, "pz", particles+5);
+
+        // disable striding to write the ID's
+        H5PartSetNumParticles (file, NPOINTS);
+        H5PartWriteDataInt64 (file, "id", id);
+
+        // cleanup
+	H5CloseFile (file);
+	MPI_Finalize ();
+	return 0;
+}
diff --git a/examples/H5Part/write_stridedf.f90 b/examples/H5Part/write_stridedf.f90
index 7eb369e..781d697 100644
--- a/examples/H5Part/write_stridedf.f90
+++ b/examples/H5Part/write_stridedf.f90
@@ -1,61 +1,70 @@
-program H5PartTest
-  implicit none
+!
+!  Copyright (c) 2006-2013, The Regents of the University of California,
+!  through Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (subject to receipt of any
+!  required approvals from the U.S. Dept. of Energy) and the Paul Scherrer
+!  Institut (Switzerland).  All rights reserved.!
+!
+!  License: see file COPYING in top level of source distribution.
+!
+include 'H5hut.f90'
 
+program write_stridedf
+  use H5hut
+  implicit none
   include 'mpif.h'
-  include 'H5PartF.h'
+
+  ! the file name we want to read
+  character (len=*), parameter :: FNAME =       "example_strided.h5"
+  integer*8, parameter :: NPOINTS =             99
 
   integer :: comm, rank, ierr
-  integer*8 :: file_id, status, npoints, i
+  integer*8 :: file, i, status
   real*8, allocatable :: particles(:)
   integer*8, allocatable :: id(:)
 
+  ! init MPI & H5hut
   comm = MPI_COMM_WORLD
   call mpi_init(ierr)
   call mpi_comm_rank(comm, rank, ierr)
-
-  ! open the a file for parallel writing
-  file_id = h5pt_openw_par('test.h5', comm)
-
-  ! in the Fortran API, steps start at 1
-  status = h5pt_setstep(file_id, 1_8)
-
-  ! write an attribute to the file
-  status = h5pt_writefileattrib_string(file_id, 'desc', 'This is a test.')
+  call h5_abort_on_error ()
 
   ! create fake data
-  npoints = 99
-  allocate(particles(6*npoints), id(npoints))
-  do i=0,npoints-1
-    particles(6*i+1) = 0.0 + real(i+npoints*rank)
-    particles(6*i+2) = 0.1 + real(i+npoints*rank)
-    particles(6*i+3) = 0.2 + real(i+npoints*rank)
-    particles(6*i+4) = 0.3 + real(i+npoints*rank)
-    particles(6*i+5) = 0.4 + real(i+npoints*rank)
-    particles(6*i+6) = 0.5 + real(i+npoints*rank)
-    id(i+1) = i+npoints*rank
+  allocate(particles(6*NPOINTS), id(NPOINTS))
+  do i = 0, NPOINTS-1
+    particles (6*i + 1) = 0.0 + real (i + NPOINTS*rank)
+    particles (6*i + 2) = 0.1 + real (i + NPOINTS*rank)
+    particles (6*i + 3) = 0.2 + real (i + NPOINTS*rank)
+    particles (6*i + 4) = 0.3 + real (i + NPOINTS*rank)
+    particles (6*i + 5) = 0.4 + real (i + NPOINTS*rank)
+    particles (6*i + 6) = 0.5 + real (i + NPOINTS*rank)
+    id(i+1) = i+NPOINTS*rank
   enddo
 
-  ! set the striding to 6
-  status = h5pt_setnpoints_strided(file_id, npoints, 6_8)
+  ! open the a file for parallel writing and ceate step #0
+  file = h5_openfile (FNAME, H5_O_WRONLY, H5_PROP_DEFAULT)
+  status = h5_setstep(file, 0_8)
 
-  ! write the particles
-  status = h5pt_writedata_r8(file_id, "x",  particles(1))
-  status = h5pt_writedata_r8(file_id, "y",  particles(2))
-  status = h5pt_writedata_r8(file_id, "z",  particles(3))
-  status = h5pt_writedata_r8(file_id, "px", particles(4))
-  status = h5pt_writedata_r8(file_id, "py", particles(5))
-  status = h5pt_writedata_r8(file_id, "pz", particles(6))
+  ! define number of items this processor will write and set the
+  ! in-memory striding
+  status = h5pt_setnpoints_strided (file, NPOINTS, 6_8)
 
-  ! disable the striding to write the ids
-  status = h5pt_setnpoints(file_id, npoints)
-  status = h5pt_writedata_i8(file_id, "id", id)
+  ! write strided data
+  status = h5pt_writedata_r8 (file, "x",  particles(1))
+  status = h5pt_writedata_r8 (file, "y",  particles(2))
+  status = h5pt_writedata_r8 (file, "z",  particles(3))
+  status = h5pt_writedata_r8 (file, "px", particles(4))
+  status = h5pt_writedata_r8 (file, "py", particles(5))
+  status = h5pt_writedata_r8 (file, "pz", particles(6))
 
-  ! close the file
-  status = h5pt_close(file_id)
+  ! disable striding to write the ID's
+  status = h5pt_setnpoints(file, NPOINTS)
+  status = h5pt_writedata_i8(file, "id", id)
+
+  ! cleanup
+  status = h5_closefile (file)
 
   deallocate(particles, id)
 
   call mpi_finalize(ierr)
 
-end program H5PartTest
-
+end program write_stridedf