ASHMEDAI and a large algebraic problem
M. J. Levine, Ralph Z. Roskies · 1976
We give an overview of ASHMEDAI, an algebraic manipulation language developed by M. J. Levine. Many of its features are determined by the large physics problems we want to solve. These demand both rapid execution times and efficient storage management. We achieve rapid execution by not investing symbols with their full algebraic significance. For example, this eliminates the need for built-in rational function capabilities or for a very general integration routine, but does require more user intervention. We overcome the storage problem by using internal data structures and a processing scheme which allow intermediate expressions to be virtual and which allow the use of auxiliary storage devices without sacrificing execution efficiency. We point out how parallel processing might speed up execution even more and suggest other ways for improving the system. We also emphasize the importance of verification procedures, and detail some of ours.