TOMS179
Modified Beta Function


TOMS179 is a C library which implements ACM TOMS algorithm 179, for evaluating the modified Beta function.

While the text of many ACM TOMS algorithms is available online through ACM: http://www.acm.org/pubs/calgo or NETLIB: http://www.netlib.org/toms/index.html, many of the early algorithms are not available. This is one of them. I typed it in.

The original algorithm was published in the Algol language. Shortly therafter, a distinct FORTRAN77 algorithm was published as a "remark" to the original algorithm. A few modifications to the FORTRAN77 program were proposed in a subsequent "remark".

Usage:

prob = mdbeta ( x, p, q, &ier )
where

Licensing:

The computer code and data files described and made available on this web page are distributed under the GNU LGPL license.

Languages:

TOMS179 is available in a C version and a C++ version and a FORTRAN90 version and a MATLAB version and a Python version.

Related Data and Programs:

ASA063, a C library which evaluates the incomplete Beta function.

ASA109, a C library which inverts the incomplete Beta function.

ASA226, a C library which evaluates the CDF of the noncentral Beta distribution.

ASA310, a C library which computes the CDF of the noncentral Beta distribution.

BETA_NC, a C library which evaluates the CDF of the noncentral Beta distribution.

DCDFLIB, a C++ library which contains routines which evaluate a number of probability density functions, including one based on the Beta function.

PROB, a C++ library which contains routines which evaluate a number of probability density functions, including one based on the Beta function.

TEST_VALUES, a C library which contains routines which return sample values of various functions, including the modified beta function, and the logarithm of the gamma function.

TOMS708, a FORTRAN90 library which evaluates the incomplete beta function.

Reference:

  1. Nancy Bosten, EL Battiste,
    Remark on Algorithm 179: Incomplete Beta Ratio,
    Communications of the ACM,
    Volume 17, Number 3, March 1974, pages 156-157.
  2. William Cody, Kenneth Hillstrom,
    Chebyshev Approximations for the Natural Logarithm of the Gamma Function,
    Mathematics of Computation,
    Volume 21, Number 98, April 1967, pages 198-203.
  3. John Hart, Ward Cheney, Charles Lawson, Hans Maehly, Charles Mesztenyi, John Rice, Henry Thacher, Christoph Witzgall,
    Computer Approximations,
    Wiley, 1968,
    LC: QA297.C64.
  4. Oliver Ludwig,
    Algorithm 179: Incomplete Beta Ratio,
    Communications of the ACM,
    Volume 6, Number 6, June 1963, page 314.
  5. Malcolm Pike, Jennie SooHoo,
    Remark on Algorithm 179: Incomplete Beta Ratio,
    ACM Transactions on Mathematical Software,
    Volume 2, Number 2, June 1976, pages 207-208.

Source Code:

Examples and Tests:

List of Routines:

You can go up one level to the C source codes.


Last revised on 20 May 2008.