• Introduction
• ANSI C vs. Non-ANSI C and IMSL.h
• Matrix Storage Modes for the MATH and STAT Libraries
• Memory Allocation for Output Arrays
• Finding the Right Function
• Organization of the Documentation
• Naming Conventions
• Error Handling, Underflow and Overflow
• Printing Results
• Missing Values
• Complex Arithmetic

Most functions are available in both a type float and a type double version, with names of the two versions sharing a common root. Some functions are also available in type int. The following list is of each type and the corresponding prefix of the function name in which multiple type versions exist:

The section names for the functions only contain the common root to make finding the functions easier. For example, the functions imsl_f_lin_sol_gen and imsl_d_lin_sol_gen can be found in section lin_sol_gen in Chapter 1 of the C/MATH/LIBRARY.

Where appropriate, the same variable name is used consistently throughout a chapter in the IMSL C Numerical Library. For example, in the functions for eigensystem analysis, eval denotes the vector of eigenvalues and n_eval denotes the number of eigenvalues computed or to be computed.

When writing programs accessing the IMSL C Numerical Library, the user should choose C names that do not conflict with IMSL external names. The careful user can avoid any conflicts with IMSL names if, in choosing names, the following rule is observed:

• Do not choose a name beginning with "imsl_" or "imsls_" in any combination of uppercase or lowercase characters.