L. S. Blackford
,
J. Choi,
A. Cleary,
J. Demmel,
I. Dhillon , J. Dongarra,
S. Hammarling,
G. Henry,
A. Petitet , K. Stanley ,
D. Walker,
and R. C. Whaley
This paper outlines the content and performance of ScaLAPACK, a
collection of mathematical software for linear algebra computations
on distributed memory computers. The importance of developing standards
for computational and message passing interfaces is discussed.
We present the different components and building blocks of ScaLAPACK,
and indicate the difficulties inherent in producing correct codes
for networks of heterogeneous processors.
Finally, this paper briefly
describes future directions for the ScaLAPACK library and concludes
by suggesting alternative approaches to mathematical libraries,
explaining how ScaLAPACK could be integrated into efficient and
user-friendly distributed systems.
Keywords: parallel computing, numerical linear algebra, math libraries.