Re: Math Lib. for Ada? Ada for X11R6?

Re: Math Lib. for Ada? Ada for X11R6?

[Robert Dewar]

OK, I understand that math libraries may go beyond the RM stuff, but surely
this is a case where it makes little sense to reinvent the wheel. If we have
good interface to Fortran, then using existing FOrtran libraries makes
good sense.

Perhaps we need a nice Ada layer on top of them in some cases, but I 
certainly would not try to rewrite them.

Note: version 2.01 of GNAT fully supports interface to Fortran, including
storing arrays columnwise if pragma Convention FOrtran is applied to an
array type. We haven't tested this out much yet, perhaps someone interested
in interfacing to this kind of library can see if it works!

Re: Math Lib. for Ada? Ada for X11R6?

[Matt Kennel]

David Weller (dweller@Starbase.NeoSoft.COM) wrote:
: In article <3fbtk3$50o@gnat.cs.nyu.edu>, Robert Dewar <dewar@cs.nyu.edu> wrote:
: >Will there ever be a freeware version of the math library
: >there is, see GNAT!
: >

: I think the original poster's question was aimed at math libraries
: that go beyond elementary functions and complex number support.

If you have column-major matrices, then writing glue for many standard
matrix routines (in fortran) should be easy.

For instance, make a matrix package that uses BLAS for computation,
and a slightly fancier matrix packages that uses BLAS and LAPACK.

BLAS and LAPACK have abtruse routine names and irritating call
protocols that could be fixed by a real language with little problem.
{That's what I'm doing for Sather.}

It gets much harder when you have to deal with Fortran packages that take
fortran routines as callbacks, e.g. ODE integrators, function minimizers, or
PDE solvers, that also tend to use Jurassic forms of data storage and
manipulation.

There are many major Fortran packages like this that people use.  

These are the tough ones to deal with.

: -- 
:        Frustrated with C/C++, Pascal, Fortran?  Ada95 _might_ be for you!
: 	  For all sorts of interesting Ada95 tidbits, run the command:
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: 	

--
-Matt Kennel  		mbk@inls1.ucsd.edu
-Institute for Nonlinear Science, University of California, San Diego
-*** AD: Archive for nonlinear dynamics papers & programs: FTP to
-***     lyapunov.ucsd.edu, username "anonymous".

Re: Math Lib. for Ada? Ada for X11R6?

[Robert Dewar]

"It [interfacing Fortran] gets much harder when you have to deal with
 packages that take Fortran routines for callbacks."

At least in GNAT, and I would hope in all Ada 95 compilers, there is
no trouble in passing Fortran routines for callbacks, or indeed passing
routines written in Ada (with pragma Convention Fortran) for this purpose.