Guide and Reference

About This Book

The Engineering and Scientific Subroutine Library (ESSL) for AIX is a set of high-performance mathematical subroutines. ESSL is provided as four run-time libraries, running on RS/6000* POWER*, PowerPC*, and POWER2* processors. ESSL can be used with Fortran, C, C++, and Programming Language/I (PL/I) programs operating under the AIX operating system.

This book is a guide and reference manual for using ESSL in doing application programming. It includes:

• An overview of ESSL and guidance information for designing, coding, and processing your program, as well as migrating existing programs, and diagnosing problems

• Reference information for coding each ESSL calling sequence

This book is written for a wide class of ESSL users: scientists, mathematicians, engineers, statisticians, computer scientists, and system programmers. It assumes a basic knowledge of mathematics in the areas of ESSL computation. It also assumes that users are familiar with Fortran, C, C++, and PL/I programming.

How to Use This Book

Front Matter consists of the Table of Contents, Special Notices, and Preface. Use these to find or interpret information in the book.

Part 1. "Guide Information" provides guidance information for using ESSL. It covers the user-oriented tasks of learning, designing, coding, migrating, processing, and diagnosing. Use the following chapters when performing any of these tasks:

• Chapter 1, "Learning about ESSL" gives an introduction to ESSL, providing highlights and general information. Read this chapter first to determine the aspects of ESSL you want to use.

• Chapter 2, "Designing Your Program" provides ESSL-specific information that helps you design your program. Read this chapter before designing your program.

• Chapter 3, "Setting Up Your Data Structures" describes all types of data structures, such as vectors, matrices, and sequences. Use this information when designing and coding your program.

• Chapter 4, "Coding Your Program" tells you how to code your scalar and array data, how to code calls to ESSL in Fortran, C, C++, and PL/I programs, and how to do the coding necessary to handle errors. Use this information when coding your program.

• Chapter 5, "Processing Your Program" describes how to process your program under your particular operating system on your hardware. Use this information after you have coded your program and are ready to run it.

• Chapter 6, "Migrating Your Programs" explains all aspects of migration to ESSL, to this version of ESSL, to different processors, and to future releases and future processors. Read this chapter before starting to design your program.

• Chapter 7, "Handling Problems" provides diagnostic procedures for analyzing all ESSL problems. When you encounter a problem, use the symptom indexes at the beginning of this chapter to guide you to the appropriate diagnostic procedure.

Part 2. "Reference Information" provides reference information you need to code the ESSL calling sequences. It covers each of the mathematical areas of ESSL, and the utility subroutines. Each chapter begins with an introduction, followed by the subroutine descriptions. Each introduction applies to all the subroutines in that chapter and is especially important in planning your use of the subroutines and avoiding problems. To understand the information in the subroutine descriptions, see "How to Interpret the Subroutine Descriptions". Use the appropriate chapter when coding your program:

• Chapter 8, "Linear Algebra Subprograms"

• Chapter 9, "Matrix Operations"

• Chapter 10, "Linear Algebraic Equations"

• Chapter 11, "Eigensystem Analysis"

• Chapter 12, "Fourier Transforms, Convolutions and Correlations, and Related Computations"

• Chapter 13, "Sorting and Searching"

• Chapter 14, "Interpolation"

• Chapter 15, "Numerical Quadrature"

• Chapter 16, "Random Number Generation"

• Chapter 17, "Utilities"

Appendix A. Basic Linear Algebra Subprograms provides a list of the Level 1, 2, and 3 Basic Linear Algebra Subprograms (BLAS) included in ESSL.

Appendix B. LAPACK provides a list of the LAPACK subroutines included in ESSL.

Glossary contains definitions of terms used in this book.

Bibliography provides information about publications related to ESSL. Use it when you need more information than this book provides.