Hello,
I'm a third year undergraduate at the University of Chicago majoring in mathematics. I'm very interested in working on the Matrix library through Google summer of code. The ideas page mentions that progress has already been made but that goals weren't completely met. What kind of support is already in place? Are there any specific types of functions that you would like to see added to the library? Although I'm relatively new to coding, I have a strong background in mathematics (including linear algebra). I've coded mainly in C but also in java, python, and very little in racket. Is this project appropriate for an enthusiastic participant who is not yet an expert hacker? Thanks for your time,

Cullen Seaton
University of Chicago
Class of 2013

Cullen,

I think the ideas page sums it up pretty well.  Matrix factorizations, sparse matrices and general polish and bug fixing are the main goals I had in mind, though we're definitely open to any other ideas you may have.  As someone with a strong math background, you could add a lot of value by helping us figure out what features are worth adding in addition to just implementing the features that have been previously suggested.

Unfortunately, though, SciD uses template metaprogramming very heavily.  If you're not comfortable with template metaprogramming in either C++ or D (you imply that you have no experience with either language) then you'd need to get up to speed very quickly.  The project will have almost zero chance of success if you don't master templates.  If this sounds too difficult, we still encourage you to submit a proposal for another project that doesn't use templates or other advanced, D-specific features so heavily.

--David Simcha