The Zoom Minimization Package

A new object-oriented Minimization package is available for distribution in the same manner as CLHEP. This package, designed for use in HEP applications, has all the capabilities of Minuit, but is a re-write from scratch, adhering to modern C++ design principles. A primary goal of this package is extensibility in several directions, so that its capabilities can be kept fresh with as little maintenance effort as possible. This package is distinguished by the priority that was assigned to C++ design issues, and the focus on producing an extensible system that will resist becoming obsolete. THE MINIMIZATION PACKAGE The ZOOM C++ Minimization package is a re-design, from the ground up, implementing the algorithms and capabilities of Minuit. The design exploits the object-oriented aspects of C++; the principle benefit is much easier extensibility of these capabilities. The package can be obtained at ! #"! $"% &" ' (") * % + $ and depends only on the C++ Standard Library. It contains a library of classes, suitable for uses as components, and easy to exploit in applications under other frameworks, such as Root. An obvious application is as the central part of a fitter. The ground rules and assumptions in designing the package were expounded in [1]: , The Minimization package must contain all the functionality of Minuit. , The processing time is assumed to be dominated by the time taken by function evaluations. The second assumption dictates when to trade speed of execution for better design cleanliness or flexibility. As originally stated, we wanted to retain ways to identically mimic all behaviors of Minuit. However, we have modified the principle a bit. In cases where the intent of the algorithm in Minuit is clear but a mis-coding in Minuit has caused straying from that attempt, if the actual Minuit code is found not to be an “accidental improvement,” we provide the corrected behavior instead. [email protected] Using the Package Obtaining and installing the Zoom Minimization package follows the same model recently adopted for CLHEP [2]. No special build systems, nor applications beyond . , nor other packages will be required. The sequence of steps to install the package is: 1. Download and unpack the tar file. 2. Create a build directory. 3. Run the ("+ / 0 script which comes with the package. 4. Issue the . command to build the libraries. 5. . 1 + . to run validation tests. 6. . 2"! to finally place the headers and libraries in the selected places. Applications will find the headers under the 3 "! $"4 &" ' ") subdirectory of the specified include area, and the library 3 "+ $"5 &" ' (") in the specified libraries area – shared libraries are also built. This should be familiar to anybody who has used CLHEP 1.9 or newer. A Sample Program The user interface to the Minimization package is designed to be as natural as possible. In the simplest case, the user has some function of 6 variables to minimize: 7 / 89 : <;= > : 0 ? 7 )/ 89 @BA C D:E 0 / 0 FC G H I9J C G4K!I LM N O > M / ") ) P