Introduction to GNU MP
**********************

   GNU MP is a portable library written in C for arbitrary precision
arithmetic on integers, rational numbers, and floating-point numbers.
It aims to provide the fastest possible arithmetic for all applications
that need higher precision than is directly supported by the basic C
types.

   Many applications use just a few hundred bits of precision; but some
applications may need thousands or even millions of bits.  MP is
designed to give good performance for both, by choosing algorithms
based on the sizes of the operands, and by carefully keeping the
overhead at a minimum.

   The speed of MP is achieved by using fullwords as the basic
arithmetic type, by using sophisticated algorithms, by including
carefully optimized assembly code for the most common inner loops for
many different CPUs, and by a general emphasis on speed (as opposed to
simplicity or elegance).

   There is carefully optimized assembly code for these CPUs: DEC
Alpha, Amd 29000, HPPA 1.0 and 1.1, Intel Pentium and generic x86,
Intel i960, Motorola MC68000, MC68020, MC88100, and MC88110,
Motorola/IBM PowerPC, National NS32000, IBM POWER, MIPS R3000, R4000,
SPARCv7, SuperSPARC, generic SPARCv8, and DEC VAX.  Some optimizations
also for ARM, Clipper, IBM ROMP (RT), and Pyramid AP/XP.

   This version of MP is released under a more liberal license than
previous versions.  It is now permitted to link MP to non-free
programs, as long as MP source code is provided when distributing the
non-free program.

How to use this Manual
======================

   Everyone should read See MP Basics.  If you need to install the
library yourself, you need to read See Installing MP, too.

   The rest of the manual can be used for later reference, although it
is probably a good idea to glance through it.