An Introduction to the Scientific Computing Language Pascal-SC,
Abstract
Microcomputers are now being widely used for small-scale scientific, engineering, and statistical computing. Pascal-SC (Pascal for Scientific Computing) is a language which has been developed specifically for this application. Its most important features are: (1) accurate floating-point arithmetic for real, complex, and interval numbers, vectors, and matrices, with controlled rounding if desired; (2) the convenience of operator notation for numerical data types, which makes programs easier to write, read, and document, together with the ability to accept user-defined operators for nonstandard data types; and (3) compatibility with ordinary Pascal, so that Pascal programming techniques and programs already written in Pascal can be used immediately. In Pascal-SC, solutions of linear systems of equations, inverse of matrices, and eigenvalues and eigenvectors are computed with guaranteed error bounds, and scalar products of vectors and sums of arbitrary length of floating-point numbers of are computed to the closest floating-point number, or rounded as desired. These basic features of Pascal-SC will be described, together with applications to research on numerical methods which have been carried out on a microcomputer. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 1985
- Accession Number
- ADP004910
Entities
People
- Louis B. Rall
Organizations
- University of Wisconsin–Madison