
Show HN: Blasjs – Pure Javascript implementation of BLAS - Jacobot
https://github.com/jacobbogers/blasjs
======
ZeroCool2u
While impressive and seemingly well put together, I can't help but think that
if you're doing numerical computation like this, JS is simply not the way to
go.

~~~
ben509
I have a system that does complex simulations on a cluster running numpy, and
I'd love to be able to kick an ndarray back to the frontend and it be able to
do translations of that data in response to users toggling sliders.

~~~
goatlover
Are you not able to use a Jupyter Notebook with ipywidgets library for this?

~~~
yig
That relies on a python backend.

~~~
joshuamorton
So what? They stated they were running numpy, so the scaffolding is already
there.

------
indescions_2018
For most WebGL a 4x4 matrix multiply is all thats needed. GLSL will implement
the basics. But all the 3D libraries include matrix ops: threejs, babylon,
etc. Then there are standalone math libs like glMatrix and math.gl from Uber.
There is even a WebAssembly accelerated library: glmw.

Just really curious what sort of simulations or applications one would build
with an in-browser BLAS implementation ;)

~~~
Jacobot
This library is for fast scientific computing, you can use it for games (its
100k minified and the matrix algos are extreemly fast),

------
wohlergehen
I would be curious if you've done any benchmarks. It would be interesting to
know how close this gets to a "naive" and "expert" regular L3 BLAS.

~~~
Jacobot
BLAS is BLAS there is no "naive" or "expert" or "regular" variant.

------
tzahola
Impressive! I think you’ve found the least appropriate language for a BLAS
reimplementation.

~~~
pjmorris
Atwood's Law: any application that can be written in JavaScript, will
eventually be written in JavaScript. [0]

[0] [https://blog.codinghorror.com/the-principle-of-least-
power/](https://blog.codinghorror.com/the-principle-of-least-power/)

------
z3t4
TypeScript is not "pure" JavaScript. I understand Microsoft has embraced the
JavaScript open source ecosystem and extended it, and recently bought the
place where most JavaScript open source developers collaborate. But I would
not go as far as to say Microsoft's TypeScript is the new JavaScript just yet.

~~~
kjeetgill
The appeal of "Pure JavaScript" that they're alluding to is the that this
library can be used in any compliant JS environment. The value proposition is
no platform dependencies.

~~~
z3t4
The description says "Pure Javascript manually written". But it's not. It's
actually TypeScript, which if you set up the right environment and install
Microsoft tools - it can be compiled to JavaScript. This makes new developers
believe that JavaScript is a Microsoft product and that you need Microsoft
tools to develop it.

~~~
Jacobot
* the distributed bundle is always javascript, * it is manual re-write from BLAS reference. * Typescript is a superset of Javascript,. * the repo is selfcontained, "npm install" will install webpack and all tools you need to build the bundle.

