The impact of high-performance computing in the solution of linear systems: Trends and problems (Q1591200)

A review of the influence of the advent of high-performance computing on the solution of linear equations is given. The primary focus is on direct methods for sparse and dense systems. The author examines the current performance of software in this area and speculates on future advances. First, the building blocks for factorization are discussed and them it is shown how these blocks can be used in dense and sparse factorizations. This is followed by a discussion of the recent attempts to harness the power of parallel computers and an examination of the current power and limitation of direct methods.