A Differentiation-Enabled Fortran 95 Compiler.

FORTRAN 95; COMPILERS (Computer programs); ROBUST control; PROGRAMMING languages; COMPUTER software; NUMERICAL analysis; COMPUTER science; HUMAN-computer interaction; USER interfaces

The availability of first derivatives of vector functions is crucial for the robustness and efficiency of a large number of numerical algorithms. An upcoming new version of the differentiation-enabled NAGWare Fortran 95 compiler is described that uses programming language extensions and a semantic code transformation known as automatic differentiation to provide Jacobians of numerical programs with machine accuracy. We describe a new user interface as well as the relevant algorithmic details. In particular, we focus on the source transformation approach that generates locally optimal gradient code for single assignments by vertex elimination in the linearized computational graph. Extensive tests show the superiority of this method over the current overloading-based approach. The robustness and convenience of the new compiler-feature is illustrated by various case studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of ACM Transactions on Mathematical Software is the property of Association for Computing Machinery and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)