The M_Vector and M_Matrix(3) interfaces implement linear algebra operations on (real or complex valued) n dimensional vectors, and m by n matrices. Optimized interfaces are provided for fixed-dimensional types (which have entries directly accessible as x, y, z and w). Arbitrary-dimensional types may or may not use fixed arrays in memory. For example, the "sparse" backend uses a sparse matrix representation, and the "db" backend stores vector entries in a database.

Backends can be selected at run-time, or Agar-Math can be compiled to provide inline expansions of all operations of a specific backend. Vector extensions (such as SSE and AltiVec) are used by default, if a runtime cpuinfo check determines that they are available (the build remains compatible with non-vector platforms, at the cost of extra function calls). For best performance, Agar should be compiled with "--with-sse=inline", or "--with-altivec=inline".

The following routines operate on dynamically-allocated vectors in Rⁿ. Unlike M_Matrix (which might use different memory representations), vector entries are always directly accessible through the v array. The M_Vector structure is defined as:
The following backends are currently available for M_Vector:

fpu	Native scalar floating point methods.

The M_VecNew() function allocates a new vector in Rⁿ. M_VecFree() releases all resources allocated for the specified vector.

M_VecResize() resizes the vector v to m. Existing entries are preserved, but new entries are left uninitialized. If insufficient memory is available, -1 is returned and an error message is set. On success, the function returns 0.

M_VecSetZero() initializes v to the zero vector.

M_ReadVector() reads a M_Vector from a data source and M_WriteVector() writes vector v to a data source; see AG_DataSource(3) for details.

M_VecGetElement() returns a direct pointer to entry i in the (non-sparse) vector v. The M_VecGet() function returns the value of entry i in a vector v, which can be a sparse vector.

M_VecFromReals(), M_VecFromFloats(), and M_VecFromDoubles() generate an M_Vector from an array of M_Real, float or double.

The M_VecCopy() routine copies the contents of vector vSrc into vDst. Both vectors must have the same size.

The M_VecFlip() function returns the vector v scaled to -1.

M_VecScale() scales the vector v by factor c and returns the resulting vector. M_VecScalev() scales the vector in place.

M_VecAdd() returns the sum of a and b, which must be of equal size. The M_VecAddv() variant writes the result back into a.

M_VecSub() returns the difference (a - b). Both vectors must be of equal size. The M_VecSubv() variant writes the result back into a.

M_VecLen() returns the Euclidean length of a vector.

M_VecDot() returns the dot product of vectors a and b.

M_VecDistance() returns the Euclidean distance between a and b.

M_VecNorm() returns the normalized (unit-length) form of v.

M_VecLERP() returns the result of linear interpolation between equally-sized vectors a and b, with scaling factor t.

M_ElemPow() raises the entries of v to the power pow, and returns the resulting vector.

The following routines operate on vectors in R², which are always represented by the structure:
The following backends are currently available for M_Vector2:

fpu	Native scalar floating point methods.

The M_VecI2() and M_VecJ2() routines return the basis vectors [1;0] and [0;1], respectively. M_VecZero2() returns the zero vector [0;0]. M_VecGet2() returns the vector [x,y]. The M_VECTOR2() macro expands to a static initializer for the vector [x,y].

M_VecSet2() writes the values [x,y] into vector v (note that entries are also directly accessible via the M_Vector2 structure).

M_VecFromProj2() returns an Euclidean vector corresponding to p in projective space. If p is at infinity, a fatal divide-by-zero condition is raised. M_VecToProj2() returns the vector in projective space corresponding to v in Euclidean space (if w=1), or v at infinity (if w=0).

M_ReadVector2() reads a M_Vector2 from a data source and M_WriteVector2() writes vector v to a data source; see AG_DataSource(3) for details.

The M_VecCopy2() function copies the contents of vector vSrc into vDst.

The function M_VecFlip2() returns the vector scaled to -1.

M_VecLen2() and M_VecLen2p() return the real length of vector v, that is Sqrt(x^2 + y^2).

M_VecDot2() and M_VecDot2p() return the dot product of vectors a and b, that is (a.x*b.x + a.y*b.y).

M_VecPerpDot2() and M_VecPerpDot2p() compute the "perp dot product" of a and b, which is (a.x*b.y - a.y*b.x).

M_VecDistance2() and M_VecDistance2p() return the real distance between vectors a and b, that is the length of the difference vector (a - b).

M_VecNorm2() and M_VecNorm2p() return the normalized (unit-length) form of v. The M_VecNorm2v() variant normalizes the vector in-place.

M_VecScale2() and M_VecScale2p() multiplies vector v by scalar c and returns the result. The M_VecScale2v() variant scales the vector in-place.

M_VecAdd2() and M_VecAdd2p() return the sum of vectors a and b. The M_VecAdd2v() variant returns the result back into a. The M_VecSum2() function returns the vector sum of the count vectors in the vs array.

M_VecSub2() and M_VecSub2p() return the difference of vectors (a-b). The M_VecSub2v() variant returns the result back into a.

The M_VecAvg2() and M_VecAvg2p() routines compute the average of two vectors (a+b)/2.

The functions M_VecLERP2() and M_VecLERP2p() interpolate linearly between vectors a and b, using the scaling factor t and returns the result. The result is computed as a+(b-a)*t.

M_VecElemPow2() raises the entries of v to the power pow, and returns the resulting vector.

M_VecVecAngle2() returns the angle (in radians) between vectors a and b, about the origin.

The following routines operate on vectors in R³, which are represented by the structure:
Notice that SIMD extensions force single-precision floats, regardless of the precision for which Agar-Math was built (if a 3-dimensional vector of higher precision is required, the general M_Vector type may be used).

The following backends are currently available for M_Vector3:

fpu	Native scalar floating point methods.
sse	Accelerate operations using Streaming SIMD Extensions (SSE).
sse3	Accelerate operations using SSE3 extensions.

The M_VecI3(), M_VecJ3() and M_VecK3() routines return the basis vectors [1;0;0], [0;1;0] and [0;0;1], respectively. M_VecZero3() returns the zero vector [0;0;0]. M_VecGet3() returns the vector [x,y,z]. The M_VECTOR3() macro expands to a static initializer for the vector [x,y,z].

M_VecSet3() writes the values [x,y,z] into vector v (note that entries are also directly accessible via the M_Vector3 structure).

M_VecFromProj3() returns an Euclidean vector corresponding to the specified vector p in projective space. If p is at infinity, a fatal divide-by-zero condition is raised.

M_ReadVector3() reads a M_Vector3 from a data source and M_WriteVector3() writes vector v to a data source; see AG_DataSource(3) for details.

The M_VecCopy3() function copies the contents of vector vSrc into vDst.

The function M_VecFlip3() returns the vector scaled to -1.

M_VecLen3() and M_VecLen3p() return the real length of vector v, that is Sqrt(x^2 + y^2 + z^2).

M_VecDot3() and M_VecDot3p() return the dot product of vectors a and b, that is (a.x*b.x + a.y*b.y + a.z*b.z).

M_VecDistance3() and M_VecDistance3p() return the real distance between vectors a and b, that is the length of the difference vector (a - b).

M_VecNorm3() and M_VecNorm3p() return the normalized (unit-length) form of v. The M_VecNorm3v() variant normalizes the vector in-place.

M_VecCross3() and M_VecCross3p() return the cross-product (also known as the "vector product" or "Gibbs vector product) of vectors a and b.

M_VecNormCross3() and M_VecNormCross3() return the normalized cross-product of vectors a and b. This is a useful operation in computer graphics (e.g., for computing plane normals from the vertices of a triangle).

M_VecScale3() and M_VecScale3p() multiplies vector v by scalar c and returns the result. The M_VecScale3v() variant scales the vector in-place.

M_VecAdd3() and M_VecAdd3p() return the sum of vectors a and b. The M_VecAdd3v() variant returns the result back into a. The M_VecSum3() function returns the vector sum of the count vectors in the vs array.

M_VecSub3() and M_VecSub3p() return the difference of vectors (a-b). The M_VecSub3v() variant returns the result back into a.

The M_VecAvg3() and M_VecAvg3p() routines compute the average of two vectors (a+b)/2.

The functions M_VecLERP3() and M_VecLERP3p() interpolate linearly between vectors a and b, using the scaling factor t and returns the result. The result is computed as a+(b-a)*t.

M_VecElemPow3() raises the entries of v to the power pow, and returns the resulting vector.

M_VecVecAngle3() returns the two angles (in radians) between vectors a and b, about the origin.

The following routines operate on vectors in R⁴, which are represented by the structure:
Notice that SIMD extensions force single-precision floats, regardless of the precision for which Agar-Math was built (if a 4-dimensional vector of higher precision is required, the general M_Vector type may be used).

The following backends are currently available for M_Vector4:

fpu	Native scalar floating point methods.
sse	Accelerate operations using Streaming SIMD Extensions (SSE).
sse3	Accelerate operations using SSE3 extensions.

The M_VecI4(), M_VecJ4(), M_VecK4() and M_VecL4() routines return the basis vectors [1;0;0;0], [0;1;0;0], [0;0;1;0] and [0;0;0;1], respectively. M_VecZero4() returns the zero vector [0;0;0;0]. M_VecGet4() returns the vector [x,y,z,w]. The M_VECTOR4() macro expands to a static initializer for the vector [x,y,z,w].

M_VecSet4() writes the values [x,y,z,w] into vector v (note that entries are also directly accessible via the M_Vector4 structure).

M_ReadVector4() reads a M_Vector4 from a data source and M_WriteVector4() writes vector v to a data source; see AG_DataSource(4) for details.

The M_VecCopy4() function copies the contents of vector vSrc into vDst.

The function M_VecFlip4() returns the vector scaled to -1.

M_VecLen4() and M_VecLen4p() return the real length of vector v, that is Sqrt(x^2 + y^2 + z^2 + w^2).

M_VecDot4() and M_VecDot4p() return the dot product of vectors a and b, that is (a.x*b.x + a.y*b.y + a.z*b.z + a.w*b.w).

M_VecDistance4() and M_VecDistance4p() return the real distance between vectors a and b, that is the length of the difference vector (a - b).

M_VecNorm4() and M_VecNorm4p() return the normalized (unit-length) form of v. The M_VecNorm4v() variant normalizes the vector in-place.

M_VecScale4() and M_VecScale4p() multiplies vector v by scalar c and returns the result. The M_VecScale4v() variant scales the vector in-place.

M_VecAdd4() and M_VecAdd4p() return the sum of vectors a and b. The M_VecAdd4v() variant returns the result back into a. The M_VecSum4() function returns the vector sum of the count vectors in the vs array.

M_VecSub4() and M_VecSub4p() return the difference of vectors (a-b). The M_VecSub4v() variant returns the result back into a.

The M_VecAvg4() and M_VecAvg4p() routines compute the average of two vectors (a+b)/2.

The functions M_VecLERP4() and M_VecLERP4p() interpolate linearly between vectors a and b, using the scaling factor t and returns the result. The result is computed as a+(b-a)*t.

M_VecElemPow4() raises the entries of v to the power pow, and returns the resulting vector.

M_VecVecAngle4() returns the three angles (in radians) between vectors a and b, about the origin.

AG_Intro(3), M_Complex(3), M_Matrix(3), M_Matview(3), M_Quaternion(3), M_Real(3)

The M_Vector interface first appeared in Agar 1.3.4.