No label defined (Q4248024)

The authors discuss an object oriented implementation of the classical fourth order Runge-Kutta method for the numerical integration of systems of first-order ordinary differential equations with special emphasis on stepsize control. Each equation is represented as an object which selects its own stepsize. The necessary values of the other variables are obtained via inter- or extrapolation. The implementation is tested on some simple systems. The proposed algorithm for selecting the stepsize is completely heuristic and not based on error estimates but on the relative change in the increments. No discussion of the effect of using inter- and extrapolated values is given. It would also be much more natural to consider collocation or other methods which automatically yield interpolating polynomials.