VERSION #1

The programs are as described in the User's Guide.  In addition, the programs
d1mach.f and linsyslp.f are provided.  The first defines machine constants
needed in some of the subroutines of our package, and the second is a driver
program to needed LINPACK programs, with those LINPACK programs also included.

FOR VERSION#2, TRANSFER TO THE SUBDIRECTORY "VERSION#2" WITHIN THE PRESENT
SUBDIRECTORY.

The files are stored in compressed tar form, and a description of how to 
handle such files to obtain the fortran text files of the BIE package is 
given below.  If you want directly the actual fortran files, please contact 
Ken Atkinson at the electronic address

              Kendall-Atkinson@uiowa.edu

Instructions for getting the BIE package:

	1) Remember to use binary mode for the ftp transfer.

        2) get bie.tar.Z

	3) Place the file in a suitable directory.

	4) Use the uncompress program for your computer system.  This should 
           generate a tar file from the tar.Z file.  On unix systems, you will
           use the command
                  uncompress bie.tar.Z

	5) Use tar with the xvf options on the tar file.  For example,
	   "tar xvf bie.tar".  This should extract the source files.

        6) In the various main program files, the standard input and output
           unit numbers are referred to by the INTEGER variables TML_IN and
           TMLOUT, respectively.  They are presently set to TML_IN=5 and
           TMLOUT=6, the standard unit numbers for Unix systems.  The 
           user will need to change these for other systems.


The User's Guide is provided in three formats, and all of them are stored in 
compressed format in the subdirectory (of the current directory) users-guide.
The formats are
(1) A dvi file, named guide.dvi.Z
(2) A postscript file named guide.ps.Z
(3) A Latex file.  The guide contains some illustrations, and the needed eps 
    files will also need to be transferred.  The needed eps files have names
    of the form user#.eps, and they should be transferred along with the 
    latex file.

ALTERNATIVE TRANSFER OPTION: It is preferable to use the above means to
transfer the combined programs in the package.  However, for those who
cannot use the above option, I am storing the individual programs in the
subdirectory biepack.progs.

Please send all comments to Kendall-Atkinson@uiowa.edu.


Last addition or modification: 

    21 July 1993:
    The User's Guide had some corrections made to it, mostly minor.

    26 June 1993:
    The program drchlt_pwsmooth_itert.f was added.  It solves the interior 
    Dirichlet problem for piecewise smooth surfaces.  The linear system is 
    solved iteratively with two-grid iteration with a special preconditioner.
    For direct solutions of the linear system, using LINPACK, see the program 
    drchlt.f, also in this package.

    Many of the programs also had a small modification, to check for a 
    violation of a bound.

    15 March 1997:
    This is just a comment as to a future addition I hope to make to the
    package.  A great deal of savings can be made for polyhedral surfaces
    if the normal vectors can be prepared ahead of calling the main routines
    in BIEPACK.  Associated changes then need to be made in the integration
    subroutines, and these can result in a large decrease in total computing
    time.  We have done this in particular cases, but have not made the 
    needed general changes to the overall package.

    January 1998:
    Version #2 has been created and is stored in the similarly named 
    subdirectory "version#2".  In that subdirectory is another README file
    which contains information on what has been added in created this
    second release of BIEPACK.