ObjectMath – An Object-Oriented Language and Environment for Symbolic and Numerical Processing in Scientific Computing

Article type: Research Article

Authors: VIKLUND, LARS | FRITZSON, PETER

Affiliations: Programming Environments Laboratory, Department of Computer and Information Science, Linköping University, S-581 83 Linköping, Sweden

Abstract: ObjectMath is a language for scientific computing that integrates object-oriented constructs with features for symbolic and numerical computation. Using ObjectMath, complex mathematical models may be implemented in a natural way. The ObjectMath programming environment provides tools for generating efficient numerical code from such models. Symbolic computation is used to rewrite and simplify equations before code is generated. One novelty of the ObjectMath approach is that it provides a comman language and an integrated environment for this kind of mixed symbolic/numerical computation. The motivation for this work is the current low-level state of the art in programming for scientific computing. Much numerical software is still being developed the traditional way in Fortran. This is especially true in application areas such as machine elements analysis, where complex nonlinear problems are the norm. We believe that tools like ObjectMath can increase productivity and quality, thus enabling users to solve problems that are too complex to handle with traditional tools.

Journal: Scientific Programming, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 229-250, 1995