[BNE-PM] Re: Perl Job (in brisbane I think!)

[Anthony Thyssen]

Gordon Fletcher wrote...
| >For those of you who are new perhaps posting a quick bio of yourself and
| >your interests would help everyone know who's around. 
| >
Greetings,
  I am a system programmer (engineer) at Griffith University, Sciences
Group, where I look after numerious (30+) UNIX machines (mostly Suns,
but also some Linux PC's).

I have been using perl extensivally for the last 7 years (the days of
perl 4) as part of my position, where it is used to run our Accounts
Database keeping track of 6000+ users, and all their accounts. I also
now create and use the perl 5 object libraries, complete with pod
documentation.  I have NOT submitted a CPAN module, yet!


--ASIDE--  I don't know if this is appropriate, but hey, what the heck..

As this is a Perl Mongers list I thought I might also explain my current
perl project.  This private work for my own use, but may be submitted to
CPAN, at a later date.

I been programing a perl vector object library. Math::Vector

This is simular to the Math::MatrixReal CPAN library, but the Vector
library does NOT require the Matrix Library to be present, unless the
wants to perform matrix operations.  That is MatrixReal only needs to be
"use"d if the user needs to "use" it.   For example a Math::Vector
object multiplied by a Math::MatrixReal object work as expected, but
without Math::Vector needing it itself.

Furthermore I am overloading the normal string operators
`.´ and `x´ to perform vector dot and cross products, (if you understand 3D
computational geometry that is).

Why?  Because the MatrixReal module is large and designed for Linear
equation solving. Not for 3D vector calculations, and Computational
Geometry. Often in a problem a full matrix is not required, also
Math::MatrixReal thinks of vectors as a column of numbers where most 3D
graphics problems use a row of numbers.  MatrixReal also does not
provide a good program interface (only a string to matrix input)!

PS: I may rename Math::Vector to Math::VectorReal to match the
existing Math::MatrixReal module it is a sister to.


  Anthony Thyssen ( System Programmer )    http://www.sct.gu.edu.au/~anthony/
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  My religious faith is a private matter bettween me and my God.
                           -- Robert A. Heinlein  ``If this Goes On --''
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     PGP Public Key available -- finger -l anthony at lyrch.cit.gu.edu.au