changeset 188:52a48083f269

Overhaul About page with minor content changes.
author Kai T. Ohlhus <k.ohlhus@gmail.com>
date Wed, 08 Jul 2020 13:38:29 +0900
parents 831b4032bfbc
children 1b7537d7e54b
files about.md
diffstat 1 files changed, 77 insertions(+), 76 deletions(-) [+]
line wrap: on
line diff
--- a/about.md	Wed Jul 08 13:25:41 2020 +0900
+++ b/about.md	Wed Jul 08 13:38:29 2020 +0900
@@ -4,91 +4,92 @@
 menu: true
 ---
 
-GNU Octave is a high-level language, primarily intended
-for numerical computations.  It provides a convenient
-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.
+GNU Octave is a high-level language, primarily intended for numerical
+computations.
+It provides a convenient 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.
 
-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.
+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.
 
-GNU Octave is also freely redistributable software.  You
-may redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of
-the [GNU General Public License (GPL)][1] as published by
-the [Free Software Foundation][2].
+GNU Octave is also freely redistributable software.
+You may redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the
+[GNU General Public License (GPL)][GPL] as published by the
+[Free Software Foundation](https://www.fsf.org/).
 
-Octave was written by [John W. Eaton][3] and [many others][4].
-Because Octave is [free software][5] you are encouraged to help
-make Octave more useful by writing and contributing additional
-functions for it, and by reporting any problems you may have.
-
-[1]: https://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html
-[2]: https://www.gnu.org/
-[3]: mailto:jwe@octave.org
-[4]: https://hg.savannah.gnu.org/hgweb/octave/file/tip/doc/interpreter/contributors.in
-[5]: https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html
-
+Octave was written by [John W. Eaton](mailto:jwe@octave.org) and
+[many others](https://hg.savannah.gnu.org/hgweb/octave/file/tip/doc/interpreter/contributors.in).
+Because Octave is [free software](https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html) you are encouraged to help make Octave
+more useful by writing and contributing additional functions for it,
+and by reporting any problems you may have.
 
 
 # History
 
-Octave was originally conceived (in about 1988) to be companion
-software for an undergraduate-level textbook on chemical reactor
-design being written by James B. Rawlings of the University of
-Wisconsin-Madison and John G. Ekerdt of the University of Texas.
-We originally envisioned some very specialized tools for the solution
-of chemical reactor design problems.  Later, after seeing the
-limitations of that approach, we opted to attempt to build a much more
-flexible tool.
+Octave was originally conceived (in about 1988) to be companion software for an
+undergraduate-level textbook on chemical reactor design being written by James
+B. Rawlings of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and John G. Ekerdt of the
+University of Texas.
+We originally envisioned some very specialized tools for the solution of
+chemical reactor design problems.
+Later,
+after seeing the limitations of that approach,
+we opted to attempt to build a much more flexible tool.
 
-There were still some people who said that we should just be using
-Fortran instead, because it is the computer language of engineering,
-but every time we had tried that, the students spent far too much time
-trying to figure out why their Fortran code failed and not enough time
-learning about chemical engineering.  We believed that with an
-interactive environment like Octave, most students would be able to
-pick up the basics quickly, and begin using it confidently in just a
-few hours.
-
-Full-time development began in the Spring of 1992.  The first alpha
-release was January 4, 1993, and version 1.0 was released February 17,
-1994.  Since then, Octave has been through several major revisions, is
-included with [Debian GNU/Linux][6], [openSUSE][7], and many other
-GNU/Linux distributions.  Octave was reviewed in the in the July, 1997
-issue of the [Linux Journal][8].
+There were still some people who said that we should just be using Fortran
+instead,
+because it is the computer language of engineering,
+but every time we had tried that,
+the students spent far too much time trying to figure out why their Fortran
+code failed and not enough time learning about chemical engineering.
+We believed that with an interactive environment like Octave,
+most students would be able to pick up the basics quickly,
+and begin using it confidently in just a few hours.
 
-Clearly, Octave is now much more than just another courseware
-package with limited utility beyond the classroom.  Although our
-initial goals were somewhat vague, we knew that we wanted to create
-something that would enable students to solve realistic problems, and
-that they could use for many things other than chemical reactor design
-problems.  Today, thousands of people worldwide are using Octave in
-teaching, research, and commercial applications.
+Full-time development began in the Spring of 1992.
+The first alpha release was January 4, 1993, and version 1.0 was released
+February 17, 1994.
+Since then, Octave has been through several major revisions,
+is included with [Debian GNU/Linux](https://www.debian.org/),
+[openSUSE](https://www.opensuse.org/),
+and many other GNU/Linux distributions.
+Octave was reviewed in the in the July, 1997 issue of the
+[Linux Journal](http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/1225).
 
-Just about everyone thinks that the name Octave has something to do
-with music, but it is actually the name of one of the author's former
-professors who wrote a famous textbook on chemical reaction
-engineering, and who was also well known for his ability to do quick
-"back of the envelope" calculations.  We hope that this software will
-make it possible for many people to do more ambitious computations
-just as easily.
+Clearly,
+Octave is now much more than just another courseware package with limited
+utility beyond the classroom.
+Although our initial goals were somewhat vague,
+we knew that we wanted to create something that would enable students to solve
+realistic problems,
+and that they could use for many things other than chemical reactor design
+problems.
+Today, thousands of people worldwide are using Octave in teaching,
+research, and commercial applications.
 
-Everyone is encouraged to share this software with others under the
-terms of the [GNU General Public License (GPL)][1].  You are also
-encouraged to help make Octave more useful by writing and contributing
-additional functions for it, and by reporting any problems you may
-have.
+Just about everyone thinks that the name Octave has something to do with music,
+but it is actually the name of one of the author's former professor
+[Octave Levenspiel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octave_Levenspiel)
+who wrote a famous textbook on chemical reaction engineering,
+and who was also well known for his ability to do quick "back of the envelope"
+calculations.
+We hope that this software will make it possible for many people to do more
+ambitious computations just as easily.
 
-[6]: https://www.debian.org/
-[7]: https://www.opensuse.org/
-[8]: http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/1225
+Everyone is encouraged to share this software with others under the terms of
+the [GNU General Public License (GPL)][GPL].
+You are also encouraged to help make Octave more useful by writing and
+contributing additional functions for it,
+and by reporting any problems you may have.
+
+[GPL]: https://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html