scientific computing with ocaml, gsl api

From: Julian Assange (proff@iq.org)
Date: Wed Mar 29 2000 - 08:00:58 MET DST

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    "David McClain" <dmcclain@azstarnet.com> writes:

    > Dear OCaml Enthusiasts,
    >
    > It has been stewing for more than a year now, a continuing work in progress,
    > but it is high time that I release a matured copy of the code and sources to
    > the world. NML (Not ML, Numeric Modeling Language, Numeric ML, Nearly ML,
    > ...) is an interactive, dynamically typed, tail pure, compiled (to native
    > code closures) functional language, whose syntax closely follows that of
    > OCaml, but where all math operations are overloaded and vectorized on real
    > and complex data in the form of lists, vectors, multidimensional arrays,
    > tuples, etc.

    This looks very nice david! Is it possible to use the vectorised, array support
    within ocaml? i.e I'm a little leary of using NML for mid-large applications due
    to the lack of type checking, but it does seem to be an excellent language for
    scientific interrogation.

    Have you looked at the GNU scientific library?

            http://sourceware.cygnus.com/gsl

    This is a wonderfully eclectic scientific library in C, with strong
    control over float properties. An ocaml or MNL binding would be a
    killer app.

    > Are there any plans to support euclidian vector algebra in n
    > dimensions? Preferably with user-defined physical field properties?
    >
    > Specifically I want to be able to do things like define two vectors,
    > v_1, and v_2, have v_1 radiate a force decreasing at 1/distance^2, and
    > calculate the the force vector across all of v_2. This is more complex
    > than simple point sources, but there doesn't even seem to be support
    > for those. It could be argued that a two body case is so trivial it
    > doesn't need supporting, which is probably true, but n body cases and
    > non point sources are hard work and useful in many (even non-physics)
    > applications. i.e the v_1, v2 example I mentioned above forms part of
    > an optimisation solution I have for laying out 2d chemical labels
    > (part-of-molecule number, atomic weight, charge, etc) over a 3d
    > polynucleartide in such a way as to avoid the labels writing accross
    > each other.
    >
    > Cheers,
    > Julian



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