Richard Fateman wrote on 11/14/2005 09:59:02
AM:
> Looks harmless. The "do the math" is tricky. Which routine? Which
> data structure for computation and answer? A sensible explanation of
> ratmx, newdet.. would be nice.
> RJF
>
I was just going to change the existing $determinant function
so that it returns a noun form for more cases. I'm not going
to change the "do the math part." After all,
"Down with Determinants!," by Sheldon Axler, is one of
my favorite articles. I'll leave the rest (a sensible
explanation...) to someone else.
In spite of my dislike for determinants, one thing
I was aiming towards was a new function determinant_by_lu.
Unless sloth overpowers me, determinant_by_lu will work on symbolic
block matrices. As for why, I only have the George Mallory
explanation: "Because it is there."
Barton