Organization of the Documentation
This manual contains a concise description of each routine, with at least one demonstrated example of each routine, including sample input and results. You will find all information pertaining to the Special Functions Library in this manual. Moreover, all information pertaining to a particular routine is in one place within a chapter.
Each chapter begins with an introduction followed by a table of contents that lists the routines included in the chapter. Documentation of the routines consists of the following information:
IMSL Routine’s Generic Name Purpose: a statement of the purpose of the routine. If the routine is a function rather than a subroutine the purpose statement will reflect this fact.Function Return Value: a description of the return value (for functions only).Required Arguments: a description of the required arguments in the order of their occurrence. Input arguments usually occur first, followed by input/output arguments, with output arguments described last. Futher, the following terms apply to arguments:Input Argument must be initialized; it is not changed by the routine.
Input/Output Argument must be initialized; the routine returns output through this argument; cannot be a constant or an expression.
Input or Output Select appropriate option to define the argument as either input or output. See individual routines for further instructions.
Output No initialization is necessary; cannot be a constant or an expression. The routine returns output through this argument.
Optional Arguments: a description of the optional arguments in the order of their occurrence.Fortran 90 Interface: a section that describes the generic and specific interfaces to the routine.Fortran 77 Style Interface: an optional section, which describes Fortran 77 style interfaces, is supplied for backwards compatibility with previous versions of the Library.ScaLAPACK Interface: an optional section, which describes an interface to a ScaLAPACK based version of this routine.Description: a description of the algorithm and references to detailed information. In many cases, other IMSL routines with similar or complementary functions are noted.Comments: details pertaining to code usage.Programming notes: an optional section that contains programming details not covered elsewhere.Example: at least one application of this routine showing input and required dimension and type statements.Output: results from the example(s). Note that unique solutions may differ from platform to platform.Additional Examples: an optional section with additional applications of this routine showing input and required dimension and type statements.
