The broad range of C tools in this book is arranged by application areas:
Sparse Systems: The Conjugate Gradient Method
Block Matrix Methods
Partial Differential Equations: Multigrid Methods
Gaussian Quadrature and Related Methods
The Complex Error Function and Relatives
Statistical Functions
Multivariate Statistics: The SVD Revisited (no software is included in this section)
Analysis of Variance
Random Numbers and Variables
Bresenham’s Line-drawing Algorithm
Contour Plotting
Sorting: Priority Queues and Heapsort
LU Decomposition Revisited
Roman Numerals
In addition to the source listings of the tools, each chapter contains a listing of a program to test the tools and a listing of test data and results. Each chapter also gives a brief introduction to the application area and its associated mathematics. The book ends with listings of the required header files and a chapter on typewriter-like output devices for IBM PCs. I keyed in one of the tools and its test program and data. I then compiled the C code and executed the test program on a system running 4.3 BSD UNIX. It worked correctly. The discussion of each tool is aimed at the application area expert and gives an overview of what the tool does and when to use it. The occasional comments in the C listings are related to the application of a tool and not to its software organization. This book does not discuss the software organization of any of the tools. Hence, I do not recommend modifying any of the tools except in the most trivial way. About 63 percent of the book is listings and even though the listings are legible, keying in or scanning in the source code is error prone. I would strongly recommend getting the source code on disk. It is available for IBM PCs for $14.95 over and above the cost of the book. If you are not going to use an IBM PC–compatible system, look for an alternative to these tools.
To successfully use any of these tools you must be knowledgeable in the specific application area, be moderately skilled in using C and UNIX, and be able to use the IBM PC disk of the source code instead of the listings in the book.
