system used for animation. As an alternative to a menu-driven user interface, one
can of course implement a command-language interface.
A.4. Locating Software on the Internet
A plethora of relevant software is available through the Internet, freely downloadable in many cases. The quality ranges from poor to superior, and one has to
employ a critical eye. A few starting points are provided below, valid at the time of
writing, just to indicate the kind of resources available. No attempt was made to
include all relevant resources, nor to seriously review or recommend any particular
piece of software. The information given is prone to change, and may quickly run
out of date; still it provides an indication for the novice simulation software programmer on which kind of items there is to look for.
General resources This web pages provide a starting points for searching Internet
resources related to computational science, mathematics, and engineering:
• https://gams.nist.gov
Plotting scientific graphs GNUPLOT is a free 2D/3D function- and data-plotting
utility available for most platforms. It supports many different image formats (e.g.,
PostScript, EPS, Latex, WMF, EMF). Executable as a stand-alone or from a user
program, it is downloadable via:
• http://www.gnuplot.info
GLE is another free cross-platform 2D/3D function- and data-plotting utility,
downloadable from:
• https://glx.sourceforge.io
Numerical libraries IMSL and NAG are well-known libraries with thousands of
standard numerical routines (e.g. solvers for differential equations, algebraic
equations, and eigenvalue problems) in Fortran, C/C++, which can also be merged
with, e.g. MATLAB or Python code:
• https://www.imsl.com
• https://www.nag.com/content/nag-library
It can be difficult to locate, download and install free or shareware libraries of a
quality comparable to the commercial ones, but see e.g. the Netlib Repository:
• http://www.netlib.org/utk/misc/netlib_query.html (for searching)
• https://netlib.org/master/expanded_liblist.html (for browsing)
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Appendix A: Performing Numerical Simulation
can of course implement a command-language interface.
A.4. Locating Software on the Internet
A plethora of relevant software is available through the Internet, freely downloadable in many cases. The quality ranges from poor to superior, and one has to
employ a critical eye. A few starting points are provided below, valid at the time of
writing, just to indicate the kind of resources available. No attempt was made to
include all relevant resources, nor to seriously review or recommend any particular
piece of software. The information given is prone to change, and may quickly run
out of date; still it provides an indication for the novice simulation software programmer on which kind of items there is to look for.
General resources This web pages provide a starting points for searching Internet
resources related to computational science, mathematics, and engineering:
• https://gams.nist.gov
Plotting scientific graphs GNUPLOT is a free 2D/3D function- and data-plotting
utility available for most platforms. It supports many different image formats (e.g.,
PostScript, EPS, Latex, WMF, EMF). Executable as a stand-alone or from a user
program, it is downloadable via:
• http://www.gnuplot.info
GLE is another free cross-platform 2D/3D function- and data-plotting utility,
downloadable from:
• https://glx.sourceforge.io
Numerical libraries IMSL and NAG are well-known libraries with thousands of
standard numerical routines (e.g. solvers for differential equations, algebraic
equations, and eigenvalue problems) in Fortran, C/C++, which can also be merged
with, e.g. MATLAB or Python code:
• https://www.imsl.com
• https://www.nag.com/content/nag-library
It can be difficult to locate, download and install free or shareware libraries of a
quality comparable to the commercial ones, but see e.g. the Netlib Repository:
• http://www.netlib.org/utk/misc/netlib_query.html (for searching)
• https://netlib.org/master/expanded_liblist.html (for browsing)
454
Appendix A: Performing Numerical Simulation