Newsgroups: comp.parallel.mpi
From: rwhaley@cupid.cs.utk.edu (R Clint Whaley)
Subject: Alpha test release of the BLACS for MPI
Keywords: BLACS MPI ScaLAPACK Linear Algebra
Organization: Computer Science Dept, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Date: 10 Oct 1995 01:20:34 GMT
Message-ID: <45chp2INN5it@CS.UTK.EDU>

An "alpha test release" of the BLACS (Basic Linear Algebra Subprograms) for
MPI is now available.  The BLACS are the communication layer used in ScaLAPACK,
the distributed memory version of LAPACK (Linear Algebra PACKage).  Thus the
release of a MPIBLACS corresponds to a MPI port of ScaLAPACK.

We designate this release to be an alpha test version because there are
some unanswered questions regarding the BLACS' MPI usage.  Although
the MPIBLACS have been tested fairly widely using MPICH (a popular MPI
implementation) we cannot say that they have been tested on even a majority
of the platforms to which MPI has been implemented.  We encourage more user
testing so that we can gain greater confidence in this implementation.

We also hope to get user feedback on several MPI-related questions before
providing a full (and therefore relatively static) release.  Users interested
in the BLACS (and by extension ScaLAPACK) based on MPI should send mail to

-- 
*****************************************************************
R. Clint Whaley       rwhaley@cs.utk.edu      104 Ayres Hall
HOME: (423) 546-1981  OFFICE: (423) 974-8298  Knoxville TN, 37996
http://www.cs.utk.edu/~rwhaley/Clint.html

