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# Extensions

Extensions to the library are under way and will remove the majority of the alignment restrictions in the PBLAS. The ScaLAPACK library and the PBLAS are also being modified to allow the possibility of a partial first block, as well as the incorporation of aggregate (algorithmic) blocking. The partial first block extension makes ScaLAPACK fully compatible with HPF and necessitates the establishment of a new matrix descriptor.

The incorporation of aggregate (algorithmic) blocking at the top-level ScaLAPACK routines, as well as in the PBLAS, removes the restriction of a user's performance being tied to his physical matrix distribution. Instead, the algorithms will perform at an optimal block size predetermined inside the PBLAS.