Users guide | Documentation

Linear algebra library for the Rust programming language.

lib.rs:

nalgebra

nalgebra is a linear algebra library written for Rust targeting:

• General-purpose linear algebra (still lacks a lot of features…)
• Real-time computer graphics.
• Real-time computer physics.

Using nalgebra

You will need the last stable build of the rust compiler and the official package manager: cargo.

Simply add the following to your Cargo.toml file:

[dependencies]
// TODO: replace the * by the latest version.
nalgebra = "*"

Most useful functionalities of nalgebra are grouped in the root module nalgebra::.

However, the recommended way to use nalgebra is to import types and traits explicitly, and call free-functions using the na:: prefix:

#[macro_use]
extern crate approx; // For the macro assert_relative_eq!
extern crate nalgebra as na;
use na::{Vector3, Rotation3};

fn main() {
let axis  = Vector3::x_axis();
let angle = 1.57;
let b     = Rotation3::from_axis_angle(&axis, angle);

assert_relative_eq!(b.axis().unwrap(), axis);
assert_relative_eq!(b.angle(), angle);
}

Features

nalgebra is meant to be a general-purpose, low-dimensional, linear algebra library, with an optimized set of tools for computer graphics and physics. Those features include:

• A single parametrizable type Matrix for vectors, (square or rectangular) matrices, and slices with dimensions known either at compile-time (using type-level integers) or at runtime.
• Matrices and vectors with compile-time sizes are statically allocated while dynamic ones are allocated on the heap.
• Convenient aliases for low-dimensional matrices and vectors: Vector1 to Vector6 and Matrix1x1 to Matrix6x6, including rectangular matrices like Matrix2x5.
• Points sizes known at compile time, and convenience aliases: Point1 to Point6.
• Translation (seen as a transformation that composes by multiplication): Translation2, Translation3.
• Rotation matrices: Rotation2, Rotation3.
• Quaternions: Quaternion, UnitQuaternion (for 3D rotation).
• Unit complex numbers can be used for 2D rotation: UnitComplex.
• Algebraic entities with a norm equal to one: Unit<T>, e.g., Unit<Vector3<f32>>.
• Isometries (translation ⨯ rotation): Isometry2, Isometry3
• Similarity transformations (translation ⨯ rotation ⨯ uniform scale): Similarity2, Similarity3.
• Affine transformations stored as a homogeneous matrix: Affine2, Affine3.
• Projective (i.e. invertible) transformations stored as a homogeneous matrix: Projective2, Projective3.
• General transformations that does not have to be invertible, stored as a homogeneous matrix: Transform2, Transform3.
• 3D projections for computer graphics: Perspective3, Orthographic3.
• Matrix factorizations: Cholesky, QR, LU, FullPivLU, SVD, Schur, Hessenberg, SymmetricEigen.
• Insertion and removal of rows of columns of a matrix.