|
FMEX Home FAQs
How Can I Help?
Examples
Tools & Links
In 1997, I began to learn MATLAB. Since
then, it has become the platform of 90% of my numerical computing. In the summer
of 2000, I became interested in simulation-based estimation
methods, specifically A. Ronald Gallant and George Tauchen's
Efficient Method of Moments. They have written a complete and
very robust application in FORTRAN77. Therefore, I needed to get
a FORTRAN compiler. To make a long story short, I now own a copy
of Compaq Visual Fortran 6.6, also.
Eventually, I wanted to combine the two languages.
My first attempts at making FMEX files were furtive at best. Not
only did the API guide seem, uh, sparse, my attempts at using the CVF debugger were just plain annoying. Eventually I got things to
work, but only with some help from the MATLAB newsgroup, as well
as some copious trial and error.
My hope for this site is two-fold: first, that
other beginners who would like to learn to write FMEX files can
hopefully avoid some of the pitfalls that I and others have
overcome; and second, that this will encourage more users to take
up FORTRAN coding when they need to resort to MEX file
programming.
This site currently has three (only two of which
currently exist) sections: Frequently
Asked Questions, Links, and the Shameless Plea for Help. In
addition, there is a mailing list that I am setting up for
reasons that aren't quite clear, but initially will be to inform
readers of changes to the site (only those which are significant--if
I sent an email every time that I made a grammatical correction,
it would get REALLY OLD REALLY FAST for all involved, so the
mailing list will not be used often.)
Finally, a note. I use Windows 2000. Not because I love it,
though I have found that the compromises associated with using W2k to be the
least offensive of the major OSs. (In fact, until graduate school, I was a rabid
Mac-User. Times change....) And, since to this point, most of this site has been
written using only my personal experience, where a feature is platform-specific,
this site focuses on Win32. If others would like to contribute, I would happily
welcome them to do so. Fortunately, the platform-specific portions of this site
are limited.
|