S-Lang GSL Module Reference: Introduction to GSL

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## 1. Introduction to GSL

The GNU Scientific Library ( GSL) is a vast collection of robust and well documented numerical functions. It includes support for many special functions, random numbers, interpolation and integration routines, and much more. For more information about GSL, visit http://www.gnu.org/software/gsl/.

Many of the routines in the GSL may be made available to the S-lang interpreter via the GSL modules described by this document, whose most recent version may be found at http://space.mit.edu/CXC/software/slang/modules/gsl/.

At the moment, the following GSL modules are available:

- `gslsf`: The GSL special function module. Currently, this module provides an interface to nearly 200 GSL special functions.
- `gslconst`: The GSL constants module. This module defines many constants such as `CONST_MKSA_SPEED_OF_LIGHT`, `CONST_CGSM_BOLTZMANN`, etc.
- `gslinterp`: The GSL interpolation module, which includes routines for linear interpolation, cubic splines, etc.
- `gslrand`: The GSL random number module. This module supports most of GSL's random number generators and distributions.
- `gslcdf` The GSL cumulative distribution function module.
- `gslfft` The GSL fast-fourier transform module.
- `gslmatrix` A set of GSL routines that deal with matrices. These include eigenvalue, eigenvector, and a number of other linear algebra functions.

There are many functions that are not yet wrapped. For example, none of GSL's ODE functions have been wrapped. Future releases of the GSL module will include more functionality. Nevertheless, what has been implemented should prove useful.

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