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The multifrontal method is widely used for the numerical solution of large sparse symmetric linear systems of equations. In this report, we discuss the design and implementation of a new multifrontal code HSLMA97. Our motivation for the new code is discussed along with the key design features. HSLMA97 is for real and complex problems and is designed to be efficient for both positive definite and indefinite systems. HSLMA97 can be run in serial or in a shared memory environment using OpenMP. An important feature is that in parallel it offers bit-compatible solutions. Numerical results are presented for a range of problems from practical applications and comparisons are made with existing codes. Future plans for HSLMA97 are outlined.
Hogg et al. (Sat,) studied this question.