INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Richard Hanson joined WTI this year. Richard brings more than 30 years of experience in scientific and parallel computing to WTI. He is the co-author of many scientific papers as well as the book, Solving Least Squares Problems, co-authored with Charles Lawson. One of his most recent projects was the design and implementation of the IMSL Fortran 90 library.

Richard has worked in industry (VNI/IMSL, Applied Dynamics International, Inc.), government laboratories (Sandia and JPL), and academia (Washington State University and USC). His main duties at WTI will be overseeing our consulting business as well as developing parallel adjuncts to our current and future products.

by Richard Hanson

Parallel computing makes it possible to solve problems that are usually not attempted on one machine. The problems that can most benefit from this technology are those that would normally require, say 24 hours to 72 hours on one machine, but the solution is needed within 1 to 3 hours.

MPI (Message Passing Interface²) provides a parallel interface on PCs running NT, and on Unix machines. The enabling MPI code exists and is supported by the major computer manufacturers, or soon will be.

At WTI we are interested in exploring the use of MPI to solve optimization problems. For many such problems, the most time consuming part of the computation is the evaluation of the objective function. It is not unusual for the number of variables to be in the hundreds or even thousands.

Example: Non-linear optimization software requires many function values. Gradient values for a function of n variables consume the majority of computing time. Using forward differences¹ to approximate these partial derivatives requires n+1 values of the function. Many optimization problems have time consuming function evaluations. For these problems, this expense outweighs any other overhead of the optimizer. Thus, we concentrate on evaluation of n+1 values of the function. This provides an opportunity for parallel computation, since the n+1 function evaluations are mutually independent. We should take advantage of this! The reason for the tolerating complication is that performance can improve dramatically.

The time has arrived for practical consideration of parallel computing, including UNIX workstation clusters networked to PCs. All the elements exist: Hardware, C, C++, Fortran, and MPI as a means of writing portable parallel code using these languages.

Why WTI?

1. Our price is competitive with full-time, entry-level jobs. We expect and desire part-time work, by the week, month or quarter. Employers are not locked in with an expensive senior employee.
2. The skill set is broad. Each consultant has a Ph.D. in Applied Math or Computer Science. Look at the total skill set: Parallel computing, MPI, DSP, C, C++, VBA, Fortran, Assembler, Applied Math, Visualization, Curve and Surface Fitting, Optimization, and Training.
3. We have strong name recognition in the industry.
4. We have excellent communication skills in written English and public speaking.
5. We have good leadership qualities.
6. Relocation is not an issue. We intend to travel to the site or work remotely from the Houston area.

Please look at our Web page, http://web.wt.net/~wti for more information.

WTI has a new Fax number. See the article in this newsletter about JFAX.com

WTI or its products can be found at the following Internet Web sites:

Visual Solutions (VisSim/OptimizePRO)
http://www.vissim.com and click on Partners. Note that VisSim 3.0 is now available.

MathWorks (GRG2, BCLS, and RBFpack) http://www.mathworks.com/connections/
bcls_grg.shtml and search for Constrained Optimization and Data Fitting.

HTML-based Help is a set of new emerging standards for online Help. Eventually, HTML-based Help will replace Windows Help. Several formats are being developed including Microsoft HTML Help and Netscape NetHelp. Microsoft HTML Help is an alternative to RTF-based Windows Help and consists of the HTML Help ActiveX Control, an HTML compression utility, a layout engine, HTML Help windows, and the Microsoft HTML Help Workshop.

The Microsoft HTML Help Workshop is a tool that makes it possible to create HTML-based Help from scratch. It includes a Table of Contents and Index editor, a wizard that makes it easy to use the HTML Help ActiveX control to enhance your Help system, and a simple HTML text editor. Version 1.1 of Microsoft HTML Help Workshop is available on Microsoft’s Web site,
www.microsoft.com/workshop/author/htmlhelp/. HTML Help will initially be available for Windows 95 and NT. Microsoft has announced plans to also support HTML Help on Windows 3.x, Macintosh, and UNIX platforms. The programs required to display HTML Help files are expected to be included in the next release of Windows. Currently they must be distributed by the HTML Help developer.

WTI is using the Microsoft HTML Help Workshop and has developed a help system for a client. One of the nice features of HTML Help is the compressed format used to distribute help systems: one file in (compiled HTML file) .chm format. The .chm file is small due to the compression used and includes all its image files. We expect to convert documentation for all WTI products into this new HTML Help format.

You can keep up with the latest changes in HTML-based Help by visiting the Microsoft HTML Help Web site at
www.microsoft.com/workshop/author/htmlhelp/
or Blue Sky's Mastering Microsoft HTML Help AutoRevision Web page, at
www.blue-sky.com/htmlhelp.htm.

Phil Smith gave a talk on Splines in VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) at Texas A&M University in November. The title of the talk was: Curve-fitting using VBA.

The Wind is a quarterly newsletter written and edited by Tom Aird and Phil Smith. Please let us know what your interests are and what type of articles you would like to see. If you would like to contribute an article to the newsletter, please contact us at WTI@AOL.COM.

You can keep up with the latest information from WTI by visiting our Web site: http://web.wt.net/~wti

JFAX Communications is a new company that offers fax services over the internet. When you open a JFAX account, you get a unique personal telephone number in any of the cities in their growing global network. Faxes and voice mail received at this number are instantly forwarded to your e-mail inbox. JFAX Send allows you to send faxes at low cost over the Internet via e-mail to any fax machine in the world.

WTI began using the JFAX service in January. Our new fax number is 281-754-4022. As a result, our fax is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and it is very reliable. We get our faxes by e-mail, which means that we can send and receive faxes, even when we are on the road.

You can get more information about the JFAX service at the Web site, http://jfax.com.

Products and Services

Consulting and Program Development Services We offer services in the following areas: Parallel computing, MPI, DSP, C, C++, Visual Basic, Fortran, Assembler, Applied Math, Visualization, Optimization, and Training. If your organization would benefit by having access to a part-time mathematical software development team, contact us!

Let us hear from you!

Regards,

Tom Aird
TomAird@aol.com

and

Phil Smith
PWSmith@aol.com