1.4 Documentation

To help you learn to use Math.h++ quickly and easily, Rogue Wave provides several forms of documentation with this product, including:

This manual, the Math.h++ User's Guide
A class reference, the Math.h++ Reference
A build guide, the Math.h++ Build Guide
A readme file

This manual and the Reference are provided in an HTML version with the product, and they are also available for purchase as single printed manual. This manual is divided into three parts: the User's Guide, the Global Function Reference, and Additional Information.

Part I, the User's Guide, gives an overview of the Math.h++ library, and instructions on how to use the classes. You are encouraged to read the entire User's Guide. Table 1 describes its organization and content:

Table 1 -- Organization of the User's Guide

Chapter	Content
Chapter 1, "Introduction"	The chapter you are reading now. Provides an overview of the product, its features, documentation, and conventions, and technical support contact information.
Chapter 2, "Templatized Collection Classes"	Defines templates and tells how to define and add new numeric types.
Chapter 3, "Vector, Matrix, and Array Classes"	Defines views of data, construction vs. assignment, vector copies, picks, subscripting, and more.
Chapter 4, "FFT Servers"	Describes the three FFT servers in Math.h++, and transforms of real, even, and odd sequences.
Chapter 5, "Linear Algebra Classes"	Describes how Math.h++ uses LU factorizations to solve sets of simultaneous linear equations.
Chapter 6, "Statistics Classes"	Describes random number generators, class Histogram and class LeastSqFit.
Chapter 7, "Persistence"	Describes how to persist objects through iostreams and RWFile.
Chapter 8, "Technical Notes"	Describes the Math.h++ error model and BLA package.
Chapter 9, "Examples"	Contains 10 examples of how to use the Math.h++ library.

Part II, the Global Function Reference, describes the Math.h++ global functions.

Part III, Additional Information, contains a table of older type and header filenames with their current equivalents, a list of typedefs and macros, a bibliography, and an index.

The Reference contains an alphabetical listing of the C++ classes in the Math.h++ library. It complements the information provided in the User's Guide with the technical detail you need for writing applications.

The Build Guide describes how to build the Math.h++ library using the Rogue Wave Software Parts Manager. The Build Guide is available in HTML and PDF formats only. The following section describes the location of the Build Guide and other online documentation.

Also available is the C++ Library Products General Build Guide, which provides basic guidance in building Rogue Wave C++ library products and the applications that depend on them. The General Guide contains a reference section that describes preprocessor macros and compiler flags used with Rogue Wave's libraries.

1.4.1 Online Documentation

The locations of your online documents depend on whether you install your product using the Software Parts Manager (SPM) or the Visual Studio Edition (VSE) installation method.

1.4.1.1 Software Parts Manager Installations

Table 2a -- Documentation locations (SPM installations)

Document	Location
readme file	`<rw_root>/parts/mth<ver><os>/docs/mthread.doc`
HTML documentation	Single-point access to Rogue Wave HTML documentation: `<rw_root>\htmldocs\index.html` General Build Guide: `<rw_root>\htmldocs\genbd\index.html` Math.h++ documentation: Math Build Guide: `<rw_root>\htmldocs\mth<ver>bd\index.html` User's Guide: `<rw_root>\htmldocs\mthug\index.html` Class Reference: `<rw_root>\htmldocs\mthref\index.html`
PDF (Build Guide only)	`<rw_root>\htmldocs\pdf\mth<ver>bd.pdf`
examples	`<rw_root>/workspaces/<os+ver>/<compiler+ver>/<buildtype> /examples/mth<ver><osfam>`

1.4.1.2 Visual Studio Edition Installations

Visual Studio Edition installations offer two types of online documentation: standard HTML (.html documents) and Microsoft HTML Help (.chm documents). You are given a choice of what documentation to install, so, depending on your choice, you may not have all of the documentation listed below on your system. You can return to the Visual Studio Edition CD at any time to install or uninstall documentation.

The HTML Help documents are integrated into the MSDN Library, and can be viewed by selecting Help|Contents on the MSVC Help menu. They can also be viewed independent of the MSDN Library by double-clicking on the .chm file name in Explorer.

The variable <rw_common> in the location paths represents the system location of your Rogue Wave common data, a location you specify the first time you install a product off the Visual Studio Edition CD.

Table 2b -- Documentation locations (VSE installations)

Document	Location
readme file	`<rw_root>\math\readme.txt`
HTML documentation	Single-point access to Rogue Wave HTML documentation: `<rw_common>\docs\htmldocs\index.html` General Build Guide: `<rw_common>\docs\htmldocs\genbd\index.html` Math.h++ documentation: Math Build Guide: `<rw_common>\docs\htmldocs\mth<ver>bd\index.html` User's Guide: `<rw_common>\docs\htmldocs\mthug\index.html` Class Reference: `<rw_common>\docs\htmldocs\mthref\index.html`
HTML Help	View through the Visual Studio Help menu. Files located at: General Build Guide: `<rw_common>\docs\msdocs\genbd.chm` Math Build Guide: `<rw_common>\docs\msdocs\mth<ver>bd.chm` User's Guide: `<rw_common>\docs\msdocs\mthug.chm` Class Reference: `<rw_common>\docs\msdocs\mthref.chm`
PDF (Build Guide only)	`<rw_common>\docs\pdf\mth<ver>bd.pdf`
examples	`<rw_root>\examples\math\<buildtype>`

1.4.2 Assumptions

This manual is an introduction to using Math.h++, Rogue Wave's object-oriented C++ class library for numeric programming. The Math.h++ documentation assumes that:

You are familiar with C++ programming and object-oriented technology. For further information, please see Appendix C, "Bibliography." For advanced users, we especially recommend Ellis and Stroustrup (1990), and Stroustrup (1997).
You have set up your environment for your compiler. If you need assistance with this step, please consult your compiler documentation.
You have installed and built Math.h++ and the required software listed in Section 1.3, "Software Requirements." If you need help performing this step, please see the Build Guide.

1.4.3 Typographic Conventions

This manual uses the following typographic conventions:

Table 3 -- Typographic conventions

Convention	Purpose	Example
`courier`	Directories, file names, examples, operating system commands, function names, and code.	the `c:\rwav` directory cout << a + b;
`<x>`	A variable in path or file name.	`<file_name>.cpp`
italic	Conventional uses, such as new terms and titles.	the intercept parameter User's Guide
bold	Conventional uses such as emphasis, and commands from an interface. Also used for Rogue Wave product names.	do this before that; the OK button Math.h++
*bold italic*	Class names.	*RWGenMat<T>*

1.4.4 Class and Function Naming Conventions

Most Rogue Wave C++ class names start with the letters RW, as in RWFile. However, some Math.h++ classes leave off the RW, as in Histogram. These are generally older classes that were named before Rogue Wave initiated that convention. In some cases, an instance of a class is referred to by an English name; for example, "server" instead of "the DoubleFFTServer." This makes the text easier to read when the meaning should be clear from context, but we use the specific form if there is possible ambiguity.

Function names begin with a lower case letter, with the first letter of subsequent words capitalized. The only exception is class RWFile, where function names begin with capital letters. Function names describe what a function does. For example, binaryStoreSize() returns the number of bytes required to store an array. Underline characters and abbreviations are not generally used in function names.

In code examples, ellipses indicate that some part of the code is missing.

Throughout the documentation, there may be references to "self," which should be understood to mean *this.