The Hilbert Class Library (HCL) is a collection of C++ classes which apply object-oriented programming principles to implement mathematical objects such as vectors and linear operators. We have found that HCL provides a convenient environment for implementing a variety of algorithms; its particular strength is that it allows the generic part of a program (such as optimization algorithms, linear solvers, and so forth) to be written without reference to the implementations of data structures, simulators, and other complex, application-specific details.

A central aim in designing HCL has been to avoid legislating coordinate-based representations and other idiosyncrasies that often render optimization codes unusable to those working in application areas. This design principle results in several very important capabilities, such as the ability to treat very large out-of-core data sets as vector objects, which distinguish HCL from other object oriented numerics libraries.

Version 0.9 is the beta release of HCL. Most of the classes have at least rudimentary documentation, and all have been tested to some extent. Besides better documentation and testing, 0.9 is distinguished from the pre-beta release 0.8 by a larger selection of algorithms.

For a first production release, we would like to claim that all of the classes are well-documented and at least fairly well-tested, and that the package is accompanied by a tutorial-style user manual (the class documentation amounts to a reference manual) so that users can 1) understand how to use the classes; and 2) have a reasonable expectation that the classes will perform as advertised. Our project aims to produce such a package, and 0.9 represents progress towards this goal.

We welcome bug reports, comments, and suggestions. Please contact us at hcl@caam.rice.edu.

Author:

Mark S. Gockenbach and William W. Symes

Version:

0.9