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% From hearn@rand.orgSat Sep 16 16:54:48 1995 % Date: Fri, 15 Sep 95 11:15:24 -0700 % From: Tony Hearn <hearn@rand.org> % To: John Fitch <jpff@maths.bath.ac.uk>, Arthur Norman <acn1@cam.ac.uk>, % Winfried Neun <neun@sc.zib-berlin.de> % Subject: Info package % % Here's the latest version. I have incorporated Arthur's suggestions in most % places. However, I haven't changed the table yet. What I need is % specific proposals from you guys, like: % % Please add the following: % % ... % % Please delete the following: % % ... % % Please change the following: % % ... % % I'll put this on the server now so that it will go this weekend to the % others. I can then send out the announcement next week. % ------------------------------------------------------------------------- % % REDUCE INFORMATION PACKAGE % % To produce a printable version of this document, store it as info.tex and % say: % latex info % % If you prefer, you can obtain a hard copy by sending a request to: % % Anthony C. Hearn % RAND % 1700 Main Street % P.O. Box 2138 % Santa Monica CA 90407-2138 U.S.A. % Telephone: +1-310-393-0411 Ext. 6615 % Facsimile: +1-310-393-4818 % Electronic Mail: reduce@rand.org % \documentstyle[11pt]{article} \textwidth 6.3in \topmargin -0.4in \textheight 8.7in \evensidemargin 0.25in \oddsidemargin 0.25in \newcommand{\REDUCE}{REDUCE} \newlength{\infoboxwidth} \setlength{\infoboxwidth}{5in} \begin{document} \parindent 0pt \parskip 6pt \itemsep 0pt \parsep 0pt \topsep 0pt \raggedbottom \begin{center} \LARGE {\bf REDUCE Information Package} \end{center} {\REDUCE} is an interactive program designed for general algebraic computations of interest to mathematicians, scientists and engineers. Its capabilities include: \begin{itemize} \item expansion and ordering of polynomials and rational functions; \item substitutions and pattern matching in a wide variety of forms; \item automatic and user controlled simplification of expressions; \item calculations with symbolic matrices; \item arbitrary precision integer and real arithmetic; \item facilities for defining new functions and extending program syntax; \item analytic differentiation and integration; \item factorization of polynomials; \item facilities for the solution of a variety of algebraic equations; \item facilities for the output of expressions in a variety of formats; \item facilities for generating optimized numerical programs from symbolic input; \item Dirac matrix calculations of interest to high energy physicists. \end{itemize} It is often used as an algebraic calculator for problems that are possible to do by hand. However, the main aim of {\REDUCE} is to support calculations that are not feasible by hand. Many such calculations take a significant time to set up and can run for minutes, hours or even days on the most powerful computers. In support of this goal, {\REDUCE} has the following characteristics: \begin{enumerate} \item Code stability. Various versions of {\REDUCE} have been in use for over twenty years. There has been a steady stream of improvements and refinements since then, with the source being subject to wide review by the user community. {\REDUCE} has thus evolved into a powerful system whose critical components are highly reliable, stable and efficient. \item Wide user base. A particular algebra system is often chosen for a given calculation because of its widespread use in a particular application area, with existing packages and templates being used to speed up problem solving. As evidenced by more than 800 reports listed in the current bibliography, {\REDUCE} has a large and dedicated user community working in just about every branch of computational science and engineering. A large number of special purpose packages are available in support of this, with many contributed by users. \item Full source code availability. From the beginning, it has been possible to obtain the complete {\REDUCE} source code, including the ``kernel''. Consequently, {\REDUCE} is a valuable educational resource and a good foundation for experiments in the discipline of computer algebra. Many users do in fact effectively modify the source code for their own purposes. \item Flexible updating. One advantage of making all code accessible to the user is that it is relatively easy to incorporate patches to correct small problems or extend the applicability of existing code to new problem areas. An electronic mail service and gopher and World Wide Web servers allow users to get such updates and complete new packages as they become available, without having to wait for a formal system release. \item State-of-the-art algorithms. Another advantage of an ``open'' system is that there is a shared development effort involving both distributors and users. As a result, it is easier to keep the code up-to-date, with the best current algorithms being used soon after their development. At the present time, we believe {\REDUCE} has the best available code for solving nonlinear polynomial equations using Groebner bases, real and complex root finding to any precision, exterior calculus calculations and optimized numerical code generation among others. Its simplification strategy, using a combination of efficient polynomial manipulation and flexible pattern matching is focussed on giving users as natural a result as possible without excessive programming. \item Algebraic focus. {\REDUCE} aims at being part of a complete scientific environment rather than being the complete environment itself. As a result, users can take advantage of other state-of-the-art systems specializing in numerical and graphical calculations, rather than depend on just one system to provide everything. To this end, {\REDUCE} provides facilities for writing results in a form compatible with common programming numerical languages (such as Fortran) or document processors such as TeX. \item Portability. Careful design for portability means {\REDUCE} is often available on new or uncommon machines soon after their release. This has led to significant user communities throughout the world. At the present time, {\REDUCE} is readily available on essentially all workstations and high-end microprocessor-based machines in the market. \item Uniformity. Even though {\REDUCE} is supported with different Lisps on many different platforms, much attention has been paid to making all versions perform in the same manner regardless of implementation. As a result, users can have confidence that their calculations will not behave differently if they move them to a different machine. \item Flexible Offerings. To support the differing needs of the user community, {\REDUCE} is available in a number of different configurations: \begin{enumerate} \item personal system, ready to run, available for a selection of common personal computers, shipped without source and hence with less easy updatability between major releases, but at lowest cost for a single user site; \item professional system, which comes with source, and is licensed for use on one CPU or fileserver and so can be especially attractive for laboratories or work-groups; \item site licenses, which extend the professional system to cover all similar machines at a single postal address. \end{enumerate} \item Cost. The cost of the complete {\REDUCE} system to the end-user is moderate, and does not vary substantially from platform to platform. In addition, the personal system and site licenses are offered on very generous terms. Moreover, since all systems are derived from the same source base, they are very compatible from platform to platform (from a PC to a Cray supercomputer). This makes it possible to have compatible versions at home and work. \end{enumerate} The most recent release of {\REDUCE} (Version 3.6) is dated 15 July 1995. It is available for most common computing systems, in some cases in more than one version for the same machine, through a variety of distributors listed in this memo. {\REDUCE} is based on a dialect of Lisp called {\em Standard Lisp}, and the differences between versions are the result of different implementations of this Lisp; in each case the source code for {\REDUCE} itself remains the same. The complete source code for {\REDUCE} is available. On-line versions of the manual and other support documents and tutorials are also normally included with the distribution. In order to help users choose the best version of {\REDUCE} for their purposes, we shall describe the general characteristics of the available Lisps. Following this will be a table showing the particular versions supported on each machine, and finally the full names and addresses of the {\REDUCE} distributors. Since Standard Lisp includes a limited number of functions, it is possible to run {\REDUCE} on most modern Lisps, since they contain these functions as a subset. However, the distributed versions of {\REDUCE} are based on two easily available Lisps, namely: \begin{itemize} \item Portable Standard Lisp (PSL). This is currently the Lisp used most widely for running {\REDUCE}. It evolved from the original Standard Lisp definition, but now contains many more facilities. It is quite efficient in its use of both space and time, and has been optimized for algebraic computation. All PSL versions of {\REDUCE} are distributed with sufficient PSL support to run on the given computing system. PSL is supported on many architectures and is an ideal system for those wanting to run {\REDUCE} as a standalone system. The current principal developer of PSL is the Konrad Zuse Center, Berlin (ZIB). \item Codemist Standard Lisp (CSL). This is a Lisp system written completely in ANSI C, which makes it very easy to port to a new machine. Like PSL, it is a faithful implementation of Standard Lisp and has been optimized for running {\REDUCE}. It requires a very small memory partition for its Lisp support. Furthermore, most of the {\REDUCE} facilities are supported as machine independent pseudocode, which is quite compact. In the worst case, the performance of this system is about a factor of two slower than PSL, though in many cases it matches PSL performance. However, the memory use is smaller. All CSL versions are distributed with sufficient CSL support to run on the given computing system. This is an ideal system for those wishing to embed algebraic calculations in a C-based programming environment. The developer of CSL is Codemist Ltd. A version with Japanese language support is also available from Forbs Ltd. \end{itemize} \section*{Demonstration Versions} Demonstration versions of the CSL-based {\REDUCE} for the IBM PC and Macintosh described below are available by anonymous ftp from ftp.bath.ac.uk in the directory pub/jpff/REDUCE . \newpage Demonstration versions of the PSL-based {\REDUCE} for the IBM PC described below are available by anonymous ftp from ftp.zib-berlin.de as follows: \begin{quote} pub/reduce/demo/msdos: MS-DOS and Windows 3.1 \\ pub/reduce/demo/linux: LINUX \end{quote} \section*{Obtaining Further Information about {\REDUCE}} You can obtain a current copy of this information form at any time by including the line ``send info-package'' (or ``send info-package.tex'' for a {\LaTeX} version) in a message to one of the {\REDUCE} network library servers, namely reduce-netlib@rand.org, reduce-netlib@can.nl or reduce-netlib@pi.cc.u-tokyo.ac.jp. This message is answered by an automated server. The library includes packages made available since the release of {\REDUCE} 3.6 and patches to correct any bugs that have been discovered. Further information on this library, as well as instructions on how to join a {\REDUCE} electronic forum, can be obtained by including ``help'' on a separate line in the message. Finally, a set of introductory examples in {\LaTeX} format can be obtained by including ``send intro.tex'' on a line in your message. The same information is available from an Internet gopher server with the address info.rand.org. The network library files are in a ``REDUCE Library'' directory under the directory ``Publicly Available Software''. The relevant URL is gopher://info.rand.org/11/software/reduce . A World Wide Web {\REDUCE} server with URL http://www.rrz.uni-koeln.de/REDUCE/ is also supported. In addition to general information about {\REDUCE}, this server has pointers to the network library, the demonstration versions, examples of {\REDUCE} programming, a set of manuals, and the {\REDUCE} online help system. To register for the electronic mail forum, or for further information, please contact: \begin{quote} Anthony C. Hearn \\ RAND \\ 1700 Main Street \\ P.O. Box 2138 \\ Santa Monica CA 90407-2138 \\ Telephone: +1-310-393-0411 Ext. 6615 \\ Facsimile: +1-310-393-4818 \\ Electronic Mail: reduce@rand.org \end{quote} \section*{Versions Available} The following table describes the versions of {\REDUCE} supported by the various distributors. Contact them for detailed price and availability information. For some machines {\REDUCE} 3.6 may not be available, but 3.5 still distributed. The generic ANSI C version requires some experience with the embedding language for installation; the machine-specific versions have more straightforward installation procedures. \newpage \begin{center} \begin{tabular}{|p{2.8in}|p{2.8in}|} \hline \multicolumn{1}{|c|}{{\bf System Description}} & \multicolumn{1}{c|} {{\bf Distributors (Lisp Used)}} \\ \hline Generic ANSI C version & Codemist (CSL) \\ \hline Acorn Archimedes & Codemist (CSL) \\ \hline Apple Macintosh & Codemist (CSL) \\ \hline Atari 1040ST and Mega & Codemist (CSL) \\ \hline CDC Cyber 910 & ZIB (PSL) \\ \hline CDC 4000 series & ZIB (PSL) \\ \hline Convex C100, C200 and C300 series& ZIB (PSL) \\ \hline Cray X-MP, Y-MP and C90 & ZIB (PSL) \\ \hline Data General AViiON series & ZIB (PSL) \\ \hline DEC Alpha PC running MS Windows NT & ZIB (PSL) \\ \hline DEC Alpha series running OSF-1 or Open VMS& ZIB (PSL) \\ \hline DEC DECStation series 2000, 3000 and 5000 & ZIB (PSL) \\ \hline DEC VAX running VAX/VMS or Ultrix & ZIB (PSL) \\ \hline Fujitsu M Mainframe Unix series & Forbs (CSL) \\ \hline Fujitsu 2400 series running UXP/M & ZIB (PSL) \\ \hline HP 9000/300 and 400 series & Forbs (CSL); ZIB (PSL) \\ \hline HP 9000/700 and 800 series & Forbs (CSL); ZIB (PSL) \\ \hline IBM-compatible PCs based on Intel 80286 with extended memory, 80386 and 80486 running MS-DOS & Codemist (CSL); Forbs (CSL) \\ \hline IBM-compatible PCs based on Intel 80386 and 80486 running MS-DOS, MS-Windows 3, OS/2 or Windows NT& ZIB (PSL) \\ \hline IBM-compatible PCs based on Intel 80386 and 80486 running UNIX (SCO-Unix, Interactive, Solaris or LINUX) & ZIB (PSL) \\ \hline IBM-compatible PCs based on Intel 80386 and 80486 running Next Step & ZIB (PSL) \\ \hline IBM RISC System/6000 & ZIB (PSL) \\ \hline ICL mainframes running VME & Codemist (CSL) \\ \hline ICL DRS6000 & Codemist (CSL) \\ \hline %\end{tabular} % %\begin{tabular}{|p{2.8in}|p{2.8in}|} %\hline %\multicolumn{1}{|c|}{{\bf System Description}} & \multicolumn{1}{c|} %{{\bf Distributors (Lisp Used)}} \\ \hline NEC EWS 4800 series & Forbs (CSL) \\ \hline NEC PC-9800 series & Forbs (CSL) \\ \hline NeXTstation & ZIB (PSL) \\ \hline Siemens S400/40 series running UXP/M & ZIB (PSL) \\ \hline Silicon Graphics IRIS or INDIGO& ZIB (PSL) \\ \hline Sony NEWS & Forbs (CSL) \\ \hline Sun 3 & Forbs (CSL); ZIB (PSL) \\ \hline Sun 4,~~SPARCStation series and compatibles & Forbs (CSL); ZIB (PSL) \\ \hline Thinking Machines CM5 & ZIB (PSL) \\ \hline \end{tabular} \end{center} \newpage \section*{{\REDUCE} Distributors} \begin{tabular}{l r} Codemist: & \parbox[t]{\infoboxwidth}{ Codemist Limited \\ ``Alta'', Horsecombe Vale \\ Combe Down \\ Bath BA2 5QR, UNITED KINGDOM \\ Telephone: +44-1225-837430 \\ Facsimile: +44-1225-837430 \\ Electronic Mail: jpff@maths.bath.ac.uk} \\ \\ Forbs: & \parbox[t]{\infoboxwidth}{ Forbs System Co. Ltd \\ Kannai JS Building \\ 207 Yamasitachou \\ Naka-ku \\ Yokohama 231, JAPAN \\ Telephone: +81-45-212-5020 \\ Facsimile: +81-45-212-5023} \\ \\ % \end{tabular} % \newpage % \begin{tabular}{l r} ZIB: & \parbox[t]{\infoboxwidth}{ Herbert Melenk \\ Konrad-Zuse-Zentrum fuer Informationstechnik Berlin (ZIB) \\ Heilbronner Str. 10 \\ D10711 Berlin, GERMANY Telephone: +49-30-89604-195 \\ Facsimile: +49-30-89604-125 \\ Electronic Mail: melenk@sc.zib-berlin.de \\[3mm] Ordering information for the ZIB versions is available from the URL \\ http://www.zib-berlin.de/Symbolik/reduce/dist/ or by anonymous ftp from ftp.zib-berlin.de in pub/reduce/distribution.} \end{tabular} \\[0.15in] \begin{flushright} \today \end{flushright} \end{document}