# CERN Program Library

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{{short description|Legacy scientific programming software collection by CERN}}
{{Infobox software
| name = CERN Program Library
| developer = [CERN](/source/CERN)
| latest_release_version = {{Start date and age|2023.08.14}}
| latest_release_date = {{Start date and age|2023|08|14}}
| operating_system = [Cross-platform](/source/Cross-platform)
| genre = [Technical computing](/source/List_of_numerical_analysis_software)
| license = [GNU General Public License](/source/GNU_General_Public_License), except for [GEANT](/source/GEANT_(program))
| website = {{URL|cern.ch/cernlib}}
}}
{{Portal|Free and open-source software}}
The '''CERN Program Library''' ('''CERNLIB''') is a collection of general purpose software libraries and program modules for scientific computing, developed at the European Organization for Nuclear Research [CERN](/source/CERN).<ref name="cern2014">{{Cite web
|url=https://cernlib.web.cern.ch/cernlib/
|title=Cern Program Library
|publisher=European Organization for Nuclear Research
|date=2014-10-10
|access-date=2023-02-22
}}</ref> The application area of the library focuses on physics research, in particular [high energy physics](/source/high_energy_physics),  involving general mathematics, [data analysis](/source/data_analysis), detectors simulation, data-handling, [numerical analysis](/source/numerical_analysis), and others, applicable to a wide range of scientific problems. Many modules are written in the [FORTRAN 77](/source/FORTRAN_77) language.

The major fields covered by the libraries contained therein were:
* [Elementary particle](/source/Elementary_particle) data
* Graphics and plotting
* Histograming
* [I/O](/source/I%2FO) and structured data storage
* Numerical analysis
* [Statistics](/source/Statistics) and data analysis
* Detector simulation and [Hadron](/source/Hadron)ic [event generation](/source/event_generator)

Lower-level parts of the CERN Program Library were most prominently used by the data analysis software [Physics Analysis Workstation](/source/Physics_Analysis_Workstation) (PAW) and the detector simulation framework [GEANT](/source/GEANT-3), both of which are also part of the CERN Program Library.

CERN Program Library used the year as its version, with not explicitly denoted minor revisions within a year. Besides legacy software dependency, for newer applications written in [C++](/source/C%2B%2B), CERNLIB is superseded by [ROOT](/source/ROOT).

==Status==
Development and support for CERNLIB was discontinued in 2003.<ref name="cern2014"/> Libraries were still available "as is" "for ever" from [https://web.archive.org/web/20060520110912/http://cernlib.web.cern.ch/cernlib/version.html the CERNLIB web site] but with no new code, no user support and no port to [IA-64](/source/IA-64).

The code was revitalized in 2022,<ref name ="CERNLIB status">{{cite arXiv | eprint=2303.07506 | last1=Schwickerath | first1=Ulrich | last2=Verbytskyi | first2=Andrii | title=CERNLIB status | date=2023 | class=physics.comp-ph }}</ref> multiple patches were added and as of 2023 the code can be compiled on multiple architectures either with its native build system [imake](/source/imake) or with the [CMake](/source/CMake).
The revitalized version is based on the CERNLIB release 2006.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Official website|cern.ch/cernlib}}, CERN Program Library

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cern Program Library}}
Category:Fortran libraries
Category:Free mathematics software
Category:Free physics software
Category:Free software programmed in Fortran
Category:Numerical software
Category:CERN software

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [CERN Program Library](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CERN_Program_Library) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CERN_Program_Library?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.