fxsin

Fxsin is a software library that provides fast trigonometric calculations, with a focus on the sine function and related operations such as cosine and tangent. It is designed for use in embedded systems, real-time simulations, and graphics pipelines where low latency and compact memory usage are important.

The name fxsin is derived from "fast sine" and is intended to reflect the library’s primary optimization goal.

Typically fxsin combines domain reduction with a mix of lookup tables and polynomial approximations to achieve a balance of speed and accuracy. Implementations usually expose functions for sin, cos, tan, and sometimes inverse trigonometric operations, with vectorized variants for SIMD-enabled platforms.

History: Fxsin originated in the early 2010s as an open-source project that sought to improve performance of trigonometric calculations on constrained hardware. A reference implementation established licensing and API conventions, which have guided later forks and ports.

Features and licensing: Fxsin is typically released under permissive licenses enabling wide adoption. It often includes platform abstractions, optional SIMD backends, and configurable accuracy versus speed settings.

Impact and usage: The library has been integrated into game engines, microcontroller toolchains, and educational resources, where predictable performance is valued. Critics note that aggressive approximations can produce reduced accuracy outside expected input ranges, so developers should validate results for their domain.