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author | Kai T. Ohlhus <k.ohlhus@gmail.com> |
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date | Fri, 17 Feb 2017 15:39:07 +0100 |
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1 --- |
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2 layout: page |
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3 title: About |
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4 menu: true |
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5 --- |
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6 |
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7 GNU Octave is a high-level language, primarily intended |
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8 for numerical computations. It provides a convenient |
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9 command line interface for solving linear and nonlinear |
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10 problems numerically, and for performing other numerical |
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11 experiments using a language that is mostly compatible |
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12 with Matlab. It may also be used as a batch-oriented |
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13 language. |
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15 Octave has extensive tools for solving common numerical |
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16 linear algebra problems, finding the roots of nonlinear |
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17 equations, integrating ordinary functions, manipulating |
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18 polynomials, and integrating ordinary differential and |
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19 differential-algebraic equations. It is easily |
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20 extensible and customizable via user-defined functions |
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21 written in Octave's own language, or using dynamically |
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22 loaded modules written in C++, C, Fortran, or other |
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23 languages. |
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24 |
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25 GNU Octave is also freely redistributable software. You |
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26 may redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of |
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27 the [GNU General Public License (GPL)][1] as published by |
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28 the [Free Software Foundation][2]. |
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29 |
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30 Octave was written by [John W. Eaton][3] and [many others][4]. |
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31 Because Octave is [free software][5] you are encouraged to help |
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32 make Octave more useful by writing and contributing additional |
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33 functions for it, and by reporting any problems you may have. |
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34 |
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35 [1]: https://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html |
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36 [2]: https://www.gnu.org/ |
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37 [3]: mailto:jwe@octave.org |
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38 [4]: http://hg.savannah.gnu.org/hgweb/octave/file/tip/doc/interpreter/contributors.in |
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39 [5]: https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html |
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41 |
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42 |
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43 # History |
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45 Octave was originally conceived (in about 1988) to be companion |
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46 software for an undergraduate-level textbook on chemical reactor |
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47 design being written by James B. Rawlings of the University of |
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48 Wisconsin-Madison and John G. Ekerdt of the University of Texas. |
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49 We originally envisioned some very specialized tools for the solution |
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50 of chemical reactor design problems. Later, after seeing the |
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51 limitations of that approach, we opted to attempt to build a much more |
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52 flexible tool. |
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54 There were still some people who said that we should just be using |
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55 Fortran instead, because it is the computer language of engineering, |
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56 but every time we had tried that, the students spent far too much time |
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57 trying to figure out why their Fortran code failed and not enough time |
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58 learning about chemical engineering. We believed that with an |
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59 interactive environment like Octave, most students would be able to |
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60 pick up the basics quickly, and begin using it confidently in just a |
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61 few hours. |
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62 |
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63 Full-time development began in the Spring of 1992. The first alpha |
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64 release was January 4, 1993, and version 1.0 was released February 17, |
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65 1994. Since then, Octave has been through several major revisions, is |
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66 included with [Debian GNU/Linux][6], [openSUSE][7], and many other |
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67 GNU/Linux distributions. Octave was reviewed in the in the July, 1997 |
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68 issue of the [Linux Journal][8]. |
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69 |
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70 Clearly, Octave is now much more than just another courseware |
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71 package with limited utility beyond the classroom. Although our |
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72 initial goals were somewhat vague, we knew that we wanted to create |
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73 something that would enable students to solve realistic problems, and |
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74 that they could use for many things other than chemical reactor design |
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75 problems. Today, thousands of people worldwide are using Octave in |
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76 teaching, research, and commercial applications. |
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77 |
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78 Just about everyone thinks that the name Octave has something to do |
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79 with music, but it is actually the name of one of the author's former |
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80 professors who wrote a famous textbook on chemical reaction |
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81 engineering, and who was also well known for his ability to do quick |
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82 "back of the envelope" calculations. We hope that this software will |
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83 make it possible for many people to do more ambitious computations |
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84 just as easily. |
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85 |
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86 Everyone is encouraged to share this software with others under the |
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87 terms of the [GNU General Public License (GPL)][1]. You are also |
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88 encouraged to help make Octave more useful by writing and contributing |
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89 additional functions for it, and by reporting any problems you may |
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90 have. |
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91 |
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92 [6]: https://www.debian.org/ |
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93 [7]: https://www.opensuse.org/ |
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94 [8]: http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/1225 |