Colt (libraries)
| Company type | Open-source software library |
|---|---|
| Industry | Scientific computing, Technical computing |
| Founder | CERN |
| Headquarters | Geneva , Switzerland |
| Products | Java library for scientific and technical computing |
Colt is a Java library collection released as open-source, designed to facilitate High Performance Scientific and Technical Computing. Its development took place at CERN. Initially intended for High Energy Physics research, Colt now accommodates a wide variety of technical computation tasks. Although its last update occurred in 2004 with Java 1.4, its source code has been incorporated into the actively supported Parallel Colt initiative.
The Colt framework provides a scalable foundation optimized for scientific computing needs. It includes efficient data structures and algorithms suited for both offline and real-time data processing, linear algebra operations, multi-dimensional array handling, statistical analysis, histogramming, Monte Carlo methods, and parallel computing. The library combines well-established community designs with original solutions where necessary.
Capabilities
Highlighted features of Colt consist of:
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Generic Lists and Maps | Resizable lists and maps for storing objects or primitive types such as int and double, allowing operations without copying between arrays and algorithms. |
| Multi-dimensional Matrices | Dense and sparse matrices ranging from one to multiple dimensions (including Data Cubes), supporting various primitive data types. |
| Linear Algebra | Fundamental matrix computations and decompositions including LU, QR, Cholesky, Eigenvalue, and Singular Value decompositions. |
| Histogramming | Efficient, modular histogramming tools integrated with functionalities from AIDA. |
| Mathematical Functions | A suite of basic to advanced mathematical utilities encompassing arithmetic, algebraic operations, polynomials, special functions like Bessel and Airy functions, constants, units, and trigonometric calculations. |
| Statistical Tools | Extensive statistical capabilities covering estimators, gamma and beta functions, probability distributions, and specialized integrals. |
| Random Number Generation | High-speed random number generators partially adapted from CLHEP libraries. |
| util.concurrent | Helper classes crafted to support concurrent and parallel programming paradigms. |
Usage Example
Demonstration of performing Singular Value Decomposition (SVD): <syntaxhighlight lang="java"> SingularValueDecomposition s = new SingularValueDecomposition(matA); DoubleMatrix2D U = s.getU(); DoubleMatrix2D S = s.getS(); DoubleMatrix2D V = s.getV(); </syntaxhighlight>
Example illustrating matrix multiplication: <syntaxhighlight lang="java"> Algebra alg = new Algebra(); DoubleMatrix2D result = alg.mult(matA, matB); </syntaxhighlight>