OONumerics User : |
From: Nick Cummings (nickc_at_[hidden])
Date: 2005-01-24 16:36:50
Hi,
I'm a physics graduate student working on a problem for which I need to do a
bit of numerical linear algebra, which I've not had much experience doing
before. One possibility is using the FORTRAN package LAPACK, but I wanted to
explore the possibility of using and object oriented approach in C++, so I was
wondering if anyone could suggest a good, free library. I thought finding such
a thing would be a breeze, but it seems it is harder than I thought to find
what I want.
As a bare minimum I require vector and matrix classes, matrix multiplication
(as in A_ik = B_ij C_jk), the ability to easily solve the matrix equation A*X =
B for X, and the ability to exponentiate diagonalizable matrices (so a function
to diagonalize them would do). I need to be able to do all these operations on
dense complex valued matrices. Efficiency of operations on large matrices is
the main concern rather than small. I would love to find a library that
implements operator overloading on matrices (perhaps via expression templates),
but that is not a must. The ability to manipulate sparse matrices is also on
the wish list of non-essential features. Any suggestions? I've looked at a
few libraries, but so far it looks like the sticking point is the ability to
diagonalize non-symmetric matrices, as some libraries will only solve symmetric
eigenvaule problems. I've also tried some that seem to have issues solving
complex matrix equations.
I thought at the outset that an OO approach would allow a much more transparent
treatment of the formulae, e.g. with the ability to treat matrices as objects
with operator overloading. And easy translation of formulae between the
chalkboard and the program would be a big advantage for physicists who don't
(and probably don't want to) spend a lot of time programming.
Thanks for your insight,
Nick