Numerical Mathematics Consortium Updates

The Numerical Mathematics Consortium today announced the latest revision to a technical specification introduced earlier this year that defines an open mathematics semantics standard for numerical algorithm development. This update includes newly ratified functions from classes that include polynomials and vector analysis. In addition to the new function definitions, the consortium resolved significant technical issues that simplify ratification of new functions.

The industry for mathematical software has been lacking a unified and standardised policy for a long time. So, people involved in making and using these softwares are coming together to formulate a consistent policy for numerical programming. The founding companies of the Numerical Mathematics Consortium -- which include INRIA, Maplesoft, Mathsoft recently acquired by Parametric Technology Corporation, and National Instruments -- established the organization in 2005 to create a specification that facilitates reuse and portability of numeric algorithms. To reach this goal, the organization is initially focusing on standardizing a core set of mathematical functions that can be used in a wide variety of application areas such as industrial control, embedded design and scientific research, as well as be easily reused by researchers and developers in industry and academia.

The newly resolved technical issues address practical topics related to algorithm design and compliance with the standard. The resolved issues cover topics such as when to specify vector orientation, how to support vectorization, what it means to be compliant and how to choose a semantic representation. Settling these technical issues provides guidelines that improve the rate of progress for new function adoption.

The latest revision of the standard, which documents the newly resolved technical issues and ratified functions, is available for download from the Numerical Mathematics Consortium Web site, http://www.nmconsortium.org/. This site provides additional information about the standard and offers information about how organizations and individuals can get involved.