Processing Sparse Vectors During Compile Time in C++

摘要

A C++ template library for a special class of sparse vectors is outlined. The sparseness structure of these vectors can be arbitrary but must be known at compile time. In this case it suffices to store only the nonzero elements of the vectors, and no indexing information about the sparseness pattern is required. This information is contained in the type of the vector as a non-type template parameter. It is shown how common vector operators can be overloaded for these vectors. When compiled the operators yield code which performs only the necessary elementary operations between the nonzero elements with no run-time penalty for indexing. All indexing is performed at compile time, resulting in very fast execution speed. The vector classes are best suited for short vectors up to few dozens of elements.