What is a sparse matrix?

Quoting from Wikipedia:

A sparse matrix is a matrix in which most of the elements are zero. There is no strict definition regarding the proportion of zero-value elements for a matrix to qualify as sparse, but a common criterion is that the number of non-zero elements is roughly equal to the number of rows or columns.

The goal of this assignment is to create a C++ code implementing the concept of a sparse matrix while efficiently storing only the non-zero elements.

Storage schemes

There are several efficient ways to store a sparse matrix. In this homework, you are asked to implement and validate two popular storage schemes, namely the Coordinate (COO) and Compressed Sparse Row (CSR) formats.

Consider the following matrix as an example:

Coordinate (COO) format

can be stored using three arrays of length nnz (number of non-zeros):

• An array values containing all the nonzero values.
• An array rows of integers containing their corresponding row indices.
• An array cols of integers containing their corresponding column indices.

For the example at hand, reading the matrix row-by-row (left-to-right), we have:

• values = [3.1, 4, 5, 7.4, 2, 6]
• rows = [ 0, 0, 1, 1, 3, 3]
• columns = [ 2, 4, 2, 4, 1, 3]

This expresses that entry is stored in row , column , entry is stored in row , column , and so on.

Compressed Sparse Row (CSR) format

This format employs again three arrays to represent :

• An array values containing all the nonzero values (length nnz),
• An array columns of integers containing their column indices (length nnz),
• An array row_idx of integers with the cumulative number of nonzero entries up to the -th row (excluded). The length of such array is . By convention, we assume that row_idx[0] = 0.

In such a way, the quantity row_idx[i+1] - row_idx[i] represents the number of nonzero elements in the -th row.

For the example at hand, we get:

• values = [3.1, 4, 5, 7.4, 2, 6]
• columns = [2, 4, 2, 4, 1, 3]
• row_idx = [0, 2, 4, 4, 6]

Code organization

• Separate class/function declarations and definitions in different files.
• Provide a main.cpp file to test and demonstrate the correctness of the proposed implementation.
• Document your code with comments to explain your design choices.

Compilation

Compile your code using the following compilation flags:

g++ -std=c++17 -Wall -Wpedantic main.cpp [other_files.cpp] -o sparse_matrix

Provide clear instructions on how to compile and run your code or, preferably, a working compilation script.

Interface

You are required to implement an abstract base class SparseMatrix that provides a public interface to perform the following operations:

1. Get the number of rows and the number of columns.
2. Get the number of nonzeros.
3. Read an entry of the matrix (e.g., const double x = A(2, 3);). If indices are out of bound, then throw an error.
4. Write an entry of the matrix (e.g., A(2, 3) = 5.7;). If indices are out of bound, then throw an error. If indices are compatible with the matrix size but the entry has not been allocated yet, either print an error or (bonus) allocate it.
5. Given a vector of compatible size, compute the matrix-vector product .
6. Print the matrix to the standard output, in a convenient, readable format.
7. Implement other utilities you think are useful (if any).

Rules

• Use std::vector<type> or raw arrays to store data.
• Implement access and write matrix entries by overloading operator().
• Implement the matrix-vector product by overloading operator*.
• You can use external resources for reference and learning, but acknowledge them in your code.
• Use meaningful names that reflect the behavior of each function or variable.
• Ensure proper const and non-const overloads in member functions for const-correctness.
• Penalties will be assigned if your interface does not properly satisfy const-correctness.
• Tip: start from simple cases, generalize later.

Implementation and validation

1. Derive from the base class SparseMatrix to implement classes for both COO and CSR storage schemes (e.g., SparseMatrixCOO and SparseMatrixCSR).
2. Implement the operations defined above for both storage schemes.
3. Provide utility functions to convert a matrix from COO format to CSR and vice versa.
4. Bonus: templatize your classes on the type of number stored by the matrix (e.g., int or double).

The main.cpp file should include tests to validate the correctness of your program. Here are some test ideas:

• If , then , i.e., the sum of the -th row.
• If (the -th vector of the canonical basis), then returns the -th column of .
• Implement additional tests of your choice.