MatClass : A Matrix Class for C++

The MatClass project is an experiment in the use of object- oriented methods in numerical methods using C++. MatClass is a family of numerical classes for C++ that are freely available. MatClass combined with a C++ compiler gives the user a compiled matrix language together with a set of numerical and statistical classes based on the key matrix decompositions e.g. LU, Cholesky, Householder QR, and SVD. It is argued that C++ with classes such as MatClass offer a valuable third line of development complementing the current standards of Fortran and GAUSS. While object-oriented numerical programming is not revolutionary, it is a significant new development. This paper aims to give a brief and superficial overview of the current state of MatClass and to announce the availability of Version 1.0d.