The first step in writing your program is to know what the math problems you are solving and finding out what routines will help you accomplish this. Since Slatec is a very large general math library covering all types of math, it will have a vast number of routines. For efficient referencing you should have access to a sophisticated index like http://math.nist.gov. They have an html index, or a java applet (called HotGAMS) for you to browse through available routines to solve math problems; HotGAMS may run somewhat slow.

After deciding on a Slatec function, you need to study the documentation, which can always be found in the source code of the routine. The quality, style, and detail of the documentation may vary somewhat from routine to routine.

Don't be afraid of the large number of arguments that a Slatec functions may require. It is not hard to get used to. When using many Slatec functions this can however get to be unmanageable or quite ugly. You may code a calling mechanism for these routines with more complex structures in C to relieve this problem. Better yet, coding a calling mechanism for these Slatec routines in C++ is an even easier way relieve the problem. Using Fortran in C++ will be discussed in a later section.