[SciPy-dev] sparse matrix support status

[Travis Oliphant]

Fernando Perez wrote:

>>Travis Oliphant wrote:
>>    
>>
>
>  
>
>>>There is a sparse matrix in SciPy now:  under Lib/sparse.  I've 
>>>implemented about 3 or 4 sparse matrices over the years, using various 
>>>libraries as back-ends.  Right now, the sparse matrix code builds on top 
>>>of  superlu and some home-grown caclulation tools.
>>>I'd love some help with this.  So, take a look at what's there and see 
>>>how you can help.
>>>      
>>>
>
>Just a note on this topic: an acquaintance at CU Boulder recently tried using 
>scipy's Lib/sparse and ran some comparisons against pysparse 
>(http://pysparse.sourceforge.net).  He found the pysparse performance to be a 
>lot better, and ended up using that.  Pysparse uses also SuperLU, so I'm not 
>exactly sure what the root cause of the discrepancy may be, and he didn't 
>track it down further (he just switched over to using pysparse and moved on).
>  
>
I know that pysparse defines some C-types.  But there may be other 
issues as well.  I'd love to merge pysparse stuff in.    Robert Cimrman 
has shown interest in sparse matrices.  Perhaps he could help.

-Travis