  We present a time-saving simulator within the framework of the density
functional theory to calculate the transport properties of electrons through
nanostructures suspended between semi-infinite electrodes. By introducing the
Fourier transform and preconditioning conjugate-gradient algorithms into the
simulator, a highly efficient performance can be achieved in determining
scattering wave functions and electron-transport properties of nanostructures
suspended between semi-infinite jellium electrodes. To demonstrate the
performance of the present algorithms, we study the conductance of metallic
nanowires and the origin of the oscillatory behavior in the conductance of an
Ir nanowire. It is confirmed that the $s$-$d_{z^2}$ channel of the Ir nanowire
exhibits the transmission oscillation with a period of two-atom length, which
is also dominant in the experimentally obtained conductance trace.
