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Astonishing Speedup In Solving Linear SDD Systems 157

Posted by kdawson
from the want-to-see-it-again? dept.
eldavojohn writes "A new paper (PDF) out of Carnegie Mellon University shows how to solve symmetric diagonally dominant linear systems much faster than before. The technique employs graph theory, randomized algorithms, and linear algebra to achieve an astonishing advantage over current methods to solve such systems. From the article: 'The result is a significant decrease in computer run times. The Gaussian elimination algorithm runs in time proportional to s^3, where s is the size of the SDD system as measured by the number of terms in the system, even when s is not much bigger the number of variables. The new algorithm, by comparison, has a run time of s*[log(s)]^2. That means, if s = 1 million, that the new algorithm run time would be about a billion times faster than Gaussian elimination.' Developers out there who maintain matrix packages and linear algebra tools might want to take a peak at the paper. Anyone who has modeled real-world systems will be able to tell you that speedups in linear algebra algorithms have a weighty effect on efficiency in simulations — especially as one approaches the theoretical limits of optimality. This research is currently being presented at the IEEE Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science."

Finally, the end of the FUD for OpenSolaris ?->

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes "After several months of criticism concerning the relative silence of Oracle and many expert analysts predicting the end of OpenSolaris and other fancy speculations, the new strategy slowly emerges ... and future seems bright :)

This "unofficial" source is somewhat confirmed by the community mail sent today, presenting the new preview release of the Oracle compilers: "What's new in Oracle Solaris Studio Express 6/10?

Oracle Solaris Studio Express 6/10 is supported on Solaris 10 (SPARC, x86), OEL 5 (x86), RHEL 5 (x86), SuSE 11 (x86) today and will be made available for *OpenSolaris in the near future*."

These announcements are consistent with what was previously claimed during the IRC chat session with Dan Roberts, director of Solaris product management at Oracle several months ago [http://www.spcoast.com/irclogs/opensolaris-meeting/index.php?date=2010-02-26] as well as other posts on the community mailing lists and IRC concerning the delay of the 2010.03 release (show-stopper bugs [http://uadmin.blogspot.com/2010/05/zfs-pipe-is-clogged.html], new strategy, migrations, etc...) and which were — sadly — not as advertised as the speculations of imminent death."
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Noise proves nothing. Often a hen who has merely laid an egg cackles as if she laid an asteroid. -- Mark Twain