IMSL and MKL

[Intel_C_Intel]

Hello

I used to work with IMSL. Before probably start using MKL I want to found out what is it exactly. Who can explainwhatmain differences betwen IMSL and MKL? For what for one and for what for another? Why with IFC Pro does IMSL go?

Thanks for answers.

[TimP]

Here are my opinions on this subject:
MKL functionality overlaps with IMSL, but in no way replaces it. For the included functions, MKL supports the range of Intel architectures and supported operating systems better, at lower cost, and better terms for product distribution. Also, it uses more industry standard calling sequences, such as BLAS.
The Windows Fortran PRO product, bundled with IMSL, is discussed on several posts on the Fortran Forum. It is set up as a migration path for applications which were supported under the CVF Windows compiler. Support for certain linux distributions is available from Visual Numerics.

[John_L_4]

Just my opinion, too, but...

I previously had CVF with IMSL. I almost never used IMSL because I could get most of the functionality from the BLAS/LAPACK (provided free withCVF) and other resources at www.netlib.org.

When we transitioned to IVF at my workplace, I specifically avoided the Pro version of IVF (and recommended the same to co-workers), because Ibelieve thehigh cost of IMSL with IVFProcould not be justified relative to the low cost of MKL. MKL provides most of what IMSL provides.What IMSL provides beyond MKL I believe can be found at netlib.org (or other repositories of quality numerical software).

That being said, IMSL doeshavesome things that come in handy once in a blue moon for me. That's one reason why I haven't uninstalled CVF. The smart thing to do is to thoroughlycompare the features of IMSL and MKL thatmaybe vital to your applications and make the decision as to whether the added functionality of IMSL is really worth the cost. For most people, I doubt the cost differential is justified.

John

[Intel_C_Intel]

Thank you very much for sharing experience with me, Tim and John.

I agree with both of you. Now I can think about right purchasing from another position. This is kind of level up for me.

Cheers

[Todd_R_Intel]

One thing I haven't seen emphasized in the great feedback above is performance. On many of the functions that are common to MKL and IMSL, MKL greatly outperforms IMSL's versions of the same functions.

-Todd

[edst]

To be more accurate, MKL and IMSL are complementary solutions. MKL focuses on linear algebra, BLAS, LAPACK, FFTs while IMSL contains these functions as well but also covers a much broader set of algorithms. Some of the areas of coverage include:

• Numerical optimization
• Time series analysis
• Data mining
• Regression
• Quadrature
• Splines and approximation
• Nonlinear systems
• Differential Equations

etc. Further, IMSL algorithms can leverage the core MKL routines to enhance performance on Intel platforms. If your algorithms needs go beyond MKL, IMSL is a very affordable solution in the IVF Pro bundle.

Here is a link to the IMSL Fortran Library v6.0 function catalog: PDF