[fpc-pascal]Math/Algebra Unit for FreePascal

[Michael.VanCanneyt at Wisa.be]

On Tue, 20 Jul 2004, Alan Mead wrote:

> --- Michael.VanCanneyt at Wisa.be wrote:
> > I have the 'Numerical Recipes in Pascal' CD-ROM, but I
> > suspect
> > there might be copyright issues involved when distributing these
> > algorithms
> > :/
> 
> A version of the NR code is freely available on the net as a zip file
> complete with the code and the examples.  The code matches the book
> copyrighted 1986/1989, I don't know if there is a later edition.. I
> think the readme in the zip file calls this an older version released
> as shareware....

Yes. 
I found it somewhere in finland. The book is from 89, the readme from
91.

> 
> The code is not particulary free but it seems a bit hazy.  The
> colection is not free.  But, for example, I'm working on a problem
> using sigular value decomposition right now and the SVDCMP.PAS
> routine in NR is apparently a translation of free-er EISPACK
> routines.

Ah, the (in)famous (EIS/LA)PACK. How many times I had to install it :)

> 
> I would be cautious of GPL/LGPL units that that use NR code.  It's
> not clear that that's legal... 

As far as I can see from the README It would not be illegal for us to 
distribute it, if we keep the whole package together, and we don't base
any of our code on it (not likely for a compiler ;)). 

It seems to me that it is then up to the user to decide what to do with 
it once he decides to use it. The FPC units are under LGPL so they don't
require that you make your projects open source.

In each case: in my search for numerical routines, I found many links to
units and suites. 

Michael.