NEWS BRIEFS
Boulder, COLO. — Visual Numerics, Inc., a developer of web-enabled numerical analysis, data visualization and enterprise software solutions, announced that it has ported its IMSL Fortran 90 Library to the Red Hat Linux operating system from Durham, NC-based Red Hat Software Company. This port was accomplished using the Fortran 90 compiler from The Portland Group.
“Visual Numerics is responding to the migration of our traditional users to the Linux operating system running on Intel machines,” said Eric Shor, IMSL product manager at Visual Numerics. “As our customers find ways to maximize their investment in hardware, Linux on an Intel box is an extremely attractive solution. Visual Numerics always strives to support its customers on their platforms of choice.”
IMSL Fortran 90 Library is a collection of more than 1,000 mathematical and statistical analysis functions written in Fortran that programmers can embed directly into their applications. The Library’s platform-optimized functions, which are the most accurate and reliable on the market, support distributed computing environments or run on a stand-alone desktop computer.
Among the new functions available in IMSL Fortran 90 Library is a Partial Differential Equation solver and two new linearly constrained least-squares solvers with optional Message Passing Interface-enhanced distribution.
In response to the growing demand for distributed computing solutions, the IMSL Fortran 90 Library supports distributed memory processing by implementing some routines with Message Passing Interface (MPI) capabilities. Applications built with the IMSL Fortran 90 Library can be executed on system configurations ranging from one to hundreds of CPUs, thereby allowing portability from the desktop to high-end servers to networks of “computing engines.”
The benefits of using the IMSL Libraries are many; foremost among them is an acceleration of application development and the corresponding savings in time and expense. According to Visual Numerics’ benchmark studies, developing one algorithm to the same standards of reliability, portability and ease-of-use as an average IMSL function would take a developer more than two months to complete. By using IMSL routines, developers can deliver solutions more quickly and their applications benefit from the reliability and portability inherent in the IMSL products.
“Our library provides a foundation of analysis capabilities that our customers can count on for their computing needs,” said Ed Kase, marketing director at Visual Numerics. “Most developers deploy applications on more than one computing platform. By building on top of a portable foundation, they can lower their development costs as they deploy to all of their end-users. By using the IMSL Libraries, customers are assured that they are getting the most reliable results and optimal performance on all of their required platforms.”
In addition to Red Hat Linux, the IMSL Fortran 90 Library supports UNIX-based workstations (Sun Microsystems, IBM, Compaq, Silicon Graphics and Hewlett-Packard) and personal computers running Windows 95/98/NT. The IBM RS/6000 SP, the Cray T3E, the Cray SV-1, the NEC SX-4, the Fujitsu VPP 500, and the Hitachi SR8000 supercomputing platforms are also supported.
Privately held Visual Numerics provides data visualization and numerical analysis software tools to major corporations, academic institutions, and research laboratories worldwide. For more information, visit the company’s web site at http://www.vni.com .
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