Re: Offer to help with TR1 Math

[Ed Smith-Rowland <3dw4rd at verizon dot net>]

Curt Brune wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I was browsing the libstd++ status page for TR1 and noticed all the
> new math features were labelled as "missing":
>
> http://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/libstdc++/ext/tr1.html
>
> Browsing the mailing lists I can see from these posts that these
> features are actively being worked on:
>
> http://gcc.gnu.org/ml/libstdc++/2006-03/msg00065.html
>   
After a long hiatus I started looking at this again this week.  I just 
merged with mainline (no problems) and I'll start bootstrapping tomorrow.
> I am wondering if there are any areas that could use some help?
>
> My educational background is in particle physics with a deep exposure
> to mathematics and numerical analysis.  For the past 15+ years I have
> been a software engineer using C/C++ in a Unix/Linux environment, with
> the last 5 years spent working on embedded systems for PowerPC, ARM
> and x86 architectures -- all with gcc.
>
> Anyway if there's something to do I would be glad to help.  Most
> importantly I have some spare time.
>   
A fellow physicist!  I'm a nuke myself.  I would say the basics of what 
I said in that email are still true.
The biggest holes are still the Bessel and Neumann functions of 
arbitrary real order.  There is a scheme used by the GSL project and 
described in the second edition of Numerical Recipes that I think we'll 
adopt.

The whole thing needs to be worked over for sanity and naming and 
commentary.

Plus putting these functions through real use would really help.

Anyhoo, help would be most welcome!  This material is, as one of my 
professors said, is "cut but not dried".  I guess that goes some way 
towards explaining why the C++ committee decided not to move these 
functions into the main C++ draft.

*sniff*

Anyway, maybe with another implementation the balance of power will 
shift . . .

I'll send what I have tomorrow after I make sure it doesn't crash.

Thanks,
Ed
> Cheers,
> Curt
>
>
>