LinAlg API

[Tom Marble]

Alexander Schunk wrote:
> i just wanted to announce that i have written a tiny API for linear
> Algebra that offers basic Vector, Matrix and Complex Number arithmetics.
> [...]
> I am also working on some other math stuff - Fractional Numbers,
> Statistics - and think this could also be helpful for Java programms
> though there are specialised APIs already out there.

I'm a huge fan of these sorts of functionality.  We struggle
with what to do here because if we, indeed, add stuff which will
become part of JDK 7 that involves new API's then a JSR will need
to be written for it, etc.

Obviously there are times when we do want to add API's which will
become part of the core platform forever.  Other times certain
API's may be happier as libraries... and I'm confident that
the Java Module System will help us with that management issue.

I think that in either case you can start with these API's
as a library.  The next question is: "does it make sense for
LinAlg to be an experimental project within OpenJDK"?
Perhaps it would be good to get a couple more opinions on
the matter before making a formal project proposal.

Regards,

--Tom