blitz_1.html

A C++ class library for scientific computing

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</P><P>

Blitz++ uses <FONT SIZE="-1">GNU</FONT> Autoconf, which handles rewriting Makefiles for
various platforms and compilers.  It has greatly simplified installation and
porting.  Many thanks to John W. Eaton and Brendan Kehoe for their help
with this.
</P><P>

To install blitz, unpack the <TT>`blitz-VERSION.tar.gz'</TT> file (it will
install into a subdirectory <TT>`blitz-VERSION'</TT>).  For example:
</P><P>

<TABLE><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td class=example><pre>[tveldhui@n2001:~] 32: ls -l blitz*.gz
-rw-r--r--   1 tveldhui users      480953 Jun 23 15:20 blitz-0.5.tar.gz
[tveldhui@n2001:~] 33: gunzip blitz-0.5.tar.gz 
[tveldhui@n2001:~] 34: tar xvf blitz-0.5.tar
blitz-0.5/CHANGELOG
blitz-0.5/COPYING
blitz-0.5/INSTALL
blitz-0.5/Makefile.in
blitz-0.5/README
blitz-0.5/THANKS
  .
  .
</pre></td></tr></table></P><P>

Then go into the <TT>`blitz-VERSION'</TT> directory, and type:
</P><P>

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<TABLE><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td class=example><pre>./configure CXX=[compiler]
</pre></td></tr></table></P><P>

where [compiler] is one of <CODE>xlc++</CODE>, <CODE>icpc</CODE>, <CODE>pathCC</CODE>, 
<CODE>xlC</CODE>, <CODE>cxx</CODE>, <CODE>aCC</CODE>, <CODE>CC</CODE>, <CODE>g++</CODE>, <CODE>KCC</CODE>, 
<CODE>pgCC</CODE> or <CODE>FCC</CODE>.  (If you do not choose a C++ compiler, the
configure script will attempt to find an appropriate compiler for the
current platform.)
</P><P>

By default, the configure script will use a particular set of options
with each C++ compiler.  You can disable these default settings and then
substitute your own preferred compiler options with the CXXFLAGS variable,
using this syntax:
</P><P>

<TABLE><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td class=example><pre>./configure CXX=g++ --disable-cxx-flags-preset CXXFLAGS="-ftemplate-depth-50"
</pre></td></tr></table></P><P>

If you are interested in benchmarking, you may want to use the option
<CODE>--with-blas=...</CODE> to specify the path where the blas library is found.
Run the configure script with the option <CODE>--help</CODE> to see all the 
available options.
</P><P>

Once the configure script is done, you can do any of these things:
</P><P>

<DL COMPACT>
<DT><CODE>make lib</CODE>
<DD>Check the compiler and create <TT>`libblitz.a'</TT>.
<P>

<DT><CODE>make check-testsuite</CODE>
<DD>Make the blitz library plus build and run the testsuite.
<P>

<DT><CODE>make check-examples</CODE>
<DD>Make the blitz library plus build and run the examples.
<P>

<DT><CODE>make check-benchmarks</CODE>
<DD>Make the blitz library plus build and run the benchmarks.
<P>

<DT><CODE>make all</CODE>
<DD>Do all of the above.  This may take a <STRONG>long</STRONG> time.
<P>

<DT><CODE>make install</CODE>
<DD>Build the blitz library and documentation and install, along with the
blitz header files, in prefix directory.
</DL>
<P>

Building the benchmark programs requires both a Fortran 77 and Fortran 90
compiler.
</P><P>

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<H3> 1.4.2 The Blitz++ directory tree </H3>
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<P>

The main Blitz++ directory contains these subdirectories:
</P><P>

<DL COMPACT>
<DT><CODE>blitz</CODE>
<DD>Blitz++ headers and source code files
<P>

<DT><CODE>random</CODE>
<DD>Random number generators
<P>

<DT><CODE>src</CODE>
<DD>Source code for <TT>`libblitz.a'</TT>
<P>

<DT><CODE>lib</CODE>
<DD>Location of <TT>`libblitz.a'</TT>
<P>

<DT><CODE>doc</CODE>
<DD>Documentation in HTML and PostScript
<P>

<DT><CODE>testsuite</CODE>
<DD>Testsuite programs
<P>

<DT><CODE>examples</CODE>
<DD>Example programs
<P>

<DT><CODE>benchmarks</CODE>
<DD>Benchmark programs
</DL>
<P>

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<H3> 1.4.3 Porting Blitz++ </H3>
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<P>

If you want to try porting Blitz++ to a new compiler or platform, I suggest
the following approach:
</P><P>

<UL>
<LI>First check the Blitz++ web page to make sure you have the latest
snapshot, and that someone hasn't already ported blitz to your platform.
<P>

<LI>Install autoconf (from e.g. <A HREF="ftp://prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu">ftp://prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu</A>) if
you don't have it already.
<P>

<LI>Run the configure script with CXX=[compiler].  This
will exercise your compiler to see what language features it supports.  If
it doesn't have member templates and enum computations, just give up.  You
may need to set CXXFLAGS to use compiler options that enable some language
features.
<P>

<LI>Once you know what compiler options are needed, you can make these
the default settings for your C++ compiler.  Make a backup of 
<TT>`m4/ac_cxx_flags_preset.m4'</TT>, and then edit the file to add an
appropriate case for your compiler.  Invoke autoconf to regenerate the
configure script.  Then try configure with your new preset flags.
<P>

</UL>
<P>

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<H2> 1.5 Compiling with Blitz++ </H2>
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<P>

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<H3> 1.5.1 Header files </H3>
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<P>

Blitz++ follows an X-windows style convention for header files.  All headers
are referred to with a prefix of <TT>`blitz'</TT>.  For example, to use the
<CODE>Array&#60;T,N&#62;</CODE> class, one needs to include <CODE>&#60;blitz/array.h&#62;</CODE> instead
of just <CODE>&#60;array.h&#62;</CODE>.  To make this work, the main Blitz++ directory
must be in your include path.  For example, if Blitz++ was installed in
<TT>`/software/Blitz++'</TT>, you will need to compile with <CODE>-I
/software/Blitz++</CODE>.
</P><P>

If you have root privileges, you may want to put in a symbolic link from the
standard include path (e.g. <TT>`/usr/include/blitz/'</TT>) to the <CODE>blitz</CODE>
directory of the distribution.  This will allow you to omit the <CODE>-I
...</CODE> option when compiling.
</P><P>

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<H3> 1.5.2 Linking to the Blitz++ library </H3>
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<P>

The Blitz++ library file <TT>`libblitz.a'</TT> contains a few pieces of global
data.  You should ensure that the <TT>`lib'</TT> subdirectory of the Blitz++
distribution is in your library path (e.g.
<CODE>-L/usr/local/blitz-0.5/lib</CODE>) and include <CODE>-lblitz</CODE> on your
command line.  If you use math functions, you should also compile with
<CODE>-lm</CODE>.
</P><P>

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