[SciPy-dev] the scipy mission, include finite element solver

[Prabhu Ramachandran]

On 04/06/09 03:15, Ondrej Certik wrote:
> the mission of scipy from scipy.org:
> 
> "
> SciPy is open-source software for mathematics, science, and
> engineering. [...] The SciPy library [...] provides many user-friendly
> and efficient numerical routines such as routines for numerical
> integration and optimization.
> "
> 
> it has solvers for ODEs using several methods. Is having a finite
> element (FEM) solvers for PDEs (and some ODEs too) among the scipy's
> goals?

I do not think this would fit in with the purposes of scipy the library, 
  for the next obvious question would be what about grid generators? 
What about finite difference and finite volume solvers and so on.  I 
think these are a little too specialized to go into scipy proper.  There 
are a plethora of approaches, techniques, algorithms and a host of 
problems with each.

A scikit would be good as would a separate family of tools under the 
scipy umbrella.  It would be great to have a scipy-pde package but what 
does this have to do with scipy itself?  Do we have a larger 
super-package that hopes to provide different bundles, kind of like sage 
but more targeted to numerical computing?

> Together with a project like SPD:
> 
> http://code.google.com/p/spdproject/

Perhaps this is really the answer.  A specialized set of sub-packages or 
bundles with SPD for different tasks.

cheers,
prabhu