Netlib began services in 1985 to fill a need for cost-effective, timely distribution of high-quality mathematical software to the research community. Some of the libraries Netlib distributes - such as EISPACK, LINPACK, FFTPACK, and LAPACK - have long been used as important tools in scientific computation and are widely recognized to be of high quality. The Netlib collection also includes a large number of newer, less well-established codes. Most of the software is written in Fortran, but programs in other languages, such as C and C++, are also available.
Netlib sends, by return electronic mail, requested routines
together with subsidiary routines and any requested documents or
test programs supplied by the software authors [20].
Xnetlib, an interactive
tool for software and document distribution
[19], use an X Window interface
and TCP/IP connections to allow users to receive replies to
their requests within a matter of seconds. The interface
provides a number of modes and searching mechanisms to facilitate
searching through a large distributed collection of software and
documents.
World Wide Web browsers such as Mosaic and Netscape can also be used to
access Netlib via HTTP and FTP
.
Although the original focus of the Netlib repository was on mathematical software, the collection has grown to include other software (such as networking tools and tools for visualization of multiprocessor performance data), technical reports and papers, a Whitepages Database, benchmark performance data, and information about conferences and meetings. The number of Netlib servers has grown from the original two, at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (initially at Argonne National Laboratory) and Bell Labs, to servers in Norway, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Japan, and Taiwan. A mirroring mechanism keeps the repository contents at the different sites consistent on a daily basis, as well as automatically picking up new material from distributed editorial sites[24].
Netlib differs from other publicly available software distribution systems, such as Archie, in that the collection is moderated by an editorial board and the software contained in it is widely recognized to be of high quality. However, the Netlib repository is not intended to replace commercial software. Commercial software companies provide value-added services in the form of support. Although the Netlib collection is moderated, its software comes with no guarantee of reliability or support. Rather, the lack of bureaucratic, legal, and financial impediments encourages researchers to submit their codes by ensuring that their work will be made available quickly to a wide audience.