Collection of abstracts 14th GAMM-Seminar Kiel on Concepts of Numerical Software January 23rd to 25th, 1998.

Saturday, January 24th, 1998

What we can learn from computer science for the design of numerical programs

When we study algorithms for typical problems from computer science, we observe that some widespread principles of design like recursion, modularity, divide-and-conquer strategies, or hierarchical concepts play a much more prominent role than they usually do in numerical programs.

In this talk, we suggest that it may be advantageous to follow these principles more closely also in the design of numerical algorithms and programs. For two important classes of problems -- numerical quadrature and the finite element discretization of partial differential equations -- we demonstrate the application of the above-mentioned paradigms and the benefits that can got out of such an approach in comparison to standard methods.