The Stan Math Library is a C++, reverse-mode automatic differentiation library designed to be usable, extensive and extensible, efficient, scalable, stable, portable, and redistributable in order to facilitate the construction and utilization of algorithms that utilize derivatives.
[](https://zenodo.org/badge/latestdoi/38388440)
Licensing
---------
The Stan Math Library is licensed under the [new BSD license](LICENSE.md).
Required Libraries
------------------
Stan Math depends on four libraries:
- Boost (version 1.66.0): [Boost Home Page](http://www.boost.org)
- Eigen (version 3.3.3): [Eigen Home Page](http://eigen.tuxfamily.org/index.php?title=Main_Page)
- CVODES (version 3.1.0): [Sundials Home Page](http://computation.llnl.gov/projects/sundials/sundials-software)
- IDAS (version 2.1.0): [Sundials Home Page](http://computation.llnl.gov/projects/sundials/sundials-software)
These are distributed under the `lib/` subdirectory. Only these versions of the dependent libraries have been tested with Stan Math.
Installation
------------
The Stan Math Library is largely a header-only C++ library, with
exceptions for the Sundials code.
A simple hello world program using Stan Math is as follows:
```
#include
#include
int main() {
std::cout << "log normal(1 | 2, 3)="
<< stan::math::normal_log(1, 2, 3)
<< std::endl;
}
```
If this is in the file `/path/to/foo/foo.cpp`, then you can compile and run this with something like this, with the `path/to` business replaced with actual paths:
```
> cd /path/to/foo
> clang++ -std=c++1y -I /path/to/stan-math -I /path/to/Eigen -I /path/to/boost -I /path/to/sundials foo.cpp
> ./a.out
log normal(1 | 2, 3)=-2.07311
```
The `-I` includes provide paths pointing to the four necessary includes:
* Stan Math Library: path to source directory that contains `stan` as a subdirectory
* Eigen C++ Matrix Library: path to source directory that contains `Eigen` as a subdirectory
* Boost C++ Library: path to source directory that contains `boost` as a subdirectory
* SUNDIALS: path to source directory that contains `cvodes` and `idas` as a subdirectory
Note that the paths should *not* include the final directories `stan`, `Eigen`, or `boost` on the paths. An example of a real instantiation:
```
clang++ -std=c++1y -I ~/stan-dev/math -I ~/stan-dev/math/lib/eigen_3.3.3/ -I ~/stan-dev/math/lib/boost_1.66.0/ -I ~/stan-dev/math/lib/sundials_3.1.0/include foo.cpp
```
The following directories all exist below the links given to `-I`: `~/stan-dev/math/stan` and `~/stan-dev/math/lib/eigen_3.3.3/Eigen` and `~stan-dev/math/lib/boost_1.66.0/boost` and `~stan-dev/math/lib/sundials_3.1.0/include`.
Other Compilers
---------------
There's nothing special about `clang++` --- the `g++` compiler behaves the same way. You'll need to modify the commands for other compilers, which will need to be up-to-date enough to compile the Stan Math Library.