Mac Forum / Programming / CodeWarrior / September 2003

Just to let you know, I've updated macstl to 0.1.3, which now works
with Metrowerks Codewarrior 9. The new version also features 65,566
different generated Altivec constants, and all the standard Altivec
operators in a neat object-oriented package. I've listened to my users
and wrote over 100 new pages of reference documentation on the website
and a comprehensive unit test regime.

macstl is a C++ source library designed to bring the Macintosh into
the world of modern generic programming. The cornerstone is a fast
valarray optimized for Altivec: it runs 3.9x - 18.2x faster than gcc
3.3 libstdc++ and 5.2x - 16.2x faster than Metrowerks MSL C++.
Developers unfamiliar with Altivec can write to a portable, intuitive
and standard component, and just flicking a single compiler switch
will make it run fast on a G4 or G5, or run correctly on other
non-Altivec systems.

macstl is particularly valuable for CodeWarrior developers, since the
fast, efficient Metrowerks compiler is hampered by a slow, basic
valarray implementation in its MSL library. On the other hand, macstl
valarray is 10x faster on inline arithmetic than MSL C++, thanks to
aggressive use of the expression template technique. I'm especially
interested in tests on this compiler.

http://www.pixelglow.com/macstl/

The license is BSD-like, which means you can change, redistribute,
resell, chop up or burn the source code to your heart's content
without fee. However, if you want to compile into object code for more
than 30 days, you should register a single developer for $99 or a site
for $499. Object code is similarly free from royalties and additional
fees, and you get priority support and a share of subsequent fees for
code and debug contributions.

Cheers,
Glen Low, Pixelglow Software
www.pixelglow.com