

An example graph created with PDL Perl Data Language (PDL) – the extension that allows Perl to quickly and compactly store and manipulate large N-dimensional arrays – has been updated to version 2.4.10 and adds automatic multi-thread parallelisation support. The multidimensional array capability makes PDL useful to the scientific computing community as a free, array alternative to commercial packages such as IDL and MatLab. The new automatic threading support works with pthreads across multiple processors using the PDL::ParallelCPU module.

Other enhancements in PDL 2.4.10 include a new constants module which provides values such as E and PI, a new engine for the "NiceSlice" source filter and MatLab-style arguments for the pdl() constructor. More details about PDL are available on the web site and in the PDL book which is now available in PDF format . PDL can be installed using the Install page which guides users through how to download and install the software on Windows, Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Mandriva and Mac OS X, and how to do a CPAN or manual installation. Source code is also available under a combination of GPL and Artistic Licence.

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