Octave

Octave is a high-level programming language, primarily intended for numerical computations. It provides a command-line interface for solving linear and nonlinear problems numerically, and for performing other numerical experiments using a language that is mostly compatible with MATLAB. It may also be used as a batch-oriented language.

Overview

Octave was originally conceived (in about 1988) to be companion software for an undergraduate-level textbook on chemical reactor design. It has since been extended and is now a very capable calculator that can do numerical integration, solve differential equations, perform optimization, and much more.

Features

Octave has extensive tools for solving common numerical linear algebra problems, finding the roots of nonlinear equations, integrating ordinary functions, manipulating polynomials, and integrating ordinary differential and differential-algebraic equations. It is easily extensible and customizable via user-defined functions written in Octave's own language, or using dynamically loaded modules written in C++, C, Fortran, or other languages.

Compatibility with MATLAB

Octave and MATLAB users who collaborate with each other need to take note of these issues and program accordingly. Octave has been built with MATLAB compatibility in mind, and shares many features with MATLAB:

• Matrices as fundamental data type.
• Built-in support for complex numbers.
• Powerful built-in math functions and extensive function libraries.
• Extensibility in the form of user-defined functions.

See also

• MATLAB
• Numerical analysis
• Computer algebra system
• List of numerical analysis software
• Comparison of numerical analysis software

References

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