From: Len Charest
Subject: Summary: Numerical analysis in LISP
Date: 
Message-ID: <1991Aug20.165738.17973@jpl-devvax.jpl.nasa.gov>
In response to my request for a public domain numerical analysis and statistics package in LISP, Mike Wirth (···@rice.edu) writes:

	How about XLISP-STAT from Luke Tierney at U. of Minn?  Here are pointers to
	resources:
	Buy the book:  "LISP-STAT: An Object-Oriented Environment for Statistical
		Computing and Dynamic Graphics"
		Luke Tierney, Wiley, 1990.
	email the author:  ····@umnstat.stat.umn.edu
	ftp the code:  host umnstat.stat.umn.edu in directory pub/xlispstat
		(versions for Mac, Unix and Amiga are available).

	Most of the code is written in C and uses XLISP as a front-end.

I have downloaded XLISP-STAT but I haven't had the opportunity to evaluate its performance since it is written partially in XLISP (as indicated above) and we run Lucid Common LISP. Documentation comes in the form of a well-written manual/tutorial which assumes little prior experience with the LISP language.

Much of XLISP-STAT's functionality is implemented through XLISP's message-based object system. My guess is that a port to Common LISP (and CLOS) would be fairly straightforward. However, XLISP-STAT is purely a statistical package and my original post requested a numerical analysis package with emphasis on curve fitting techniques--i.e., something along the lines of what you might encounter in an undergrad introductory course in numerical methods for computing. Apparently, most LISP programmer's are using f





oreign function calls to existing math packages implemented in C or FORTRAN. If anyone out there knows of a numerical analysis package *in LISP* I am still interested.

Meanwhile, if you need statistical functionality in LISP I reccommend that you check out XLISP-STAT. As Bluto said "Don't cost nuthin."

-- 
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Len Charest, Jr.                                       ·······@ai-cyclops.jpl.nasa.gov
JPL Artificial Intelligence Group
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