Free Software Alternatives to Commercial Math Software

Transcription

1 Free Software Alternatives to Commercial Math Software Fermin Franco フランコフェルミーン Ph.D. Student Faculty of Mathematics, Kyushu University Poster A7 1

2 Abstract Research in mathematics relies ever more heavily on mathematics software. Apart from custom-made computer programs written in numerous languages, the use of mathematics software packages has also been increasing in the last 20 years or so. Until relatively recently there weren't many good options to replace commercial mathematics software like Matlab, Mathematica, etc., but there has been a strong development of free software alternatives to these commercial packages, popularizing software like Maxima, Scilab and ipython. The improved usability, portability to any Operating System (Linux, Mac, Windows) and the free cost of these free software alternatives are among the great practical reasons to prefer this kind of software. However, the most important reason to promote the use of free software alternatives comes from the philosophy of how science works: it is important to have an open and publicly verifiable source code for the calculations done in mathematics research. In other words, we should not be tied to trust "black-box" software whose inner workings are a commercial secret, because in science public verification is a crucial step. The ability to study and understand the inner workings of these programs and to develop your own improvements of them as needed is also an appealing plus. In this presentation poster I will show how, using Maxima, one can solve common tasks in calculus, algebra, differential equations and discrete dynamical systems, create animations, and solve numerical methods; and I will show how Scilab can be used as a nearly straightforward replacement to Matlab. I will also introduce the ipython terminal using the Scipy libraries to perform an overview of various scientific computing tasks, stressing the power of the Python scripting language and its numerous libraries for any field. 2

3 What is Free Software? Free software means software that respects users' freedom and community. Roughly, the users have the freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. With these freedoms, the users (both individually and collectively) control the program and what it does for them. When users don't control the program, the program controls the users. The developer controls the program, and through it controls the users. This nonfree or proprietary program is therefore an instrument of unjust power. Thus, free software is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the Logos of popular free software: GNU-Linux, concept, you should think of free Firefox, Thunderbird, LaTeX, Wordpress, as in free speech, not as in free Wikipedia, Ubuntu, R, etc. Source: internet. 3 beer. Text source: Free Software Foundation,

4 Why use Free Software? Practical Reasons: It is free cost, free to download and install. It is portable, you can use it in Linux, Mac or Windows. You can study and modify the software to adapt it to your needs. It is easy to use. Ethical Reasons: In science, public verification is crucial, i.e. you must not trust a black-box software. You can trust the software, it is free of viruses and malware. You can share the software with your colleagues and friends. 4 Text source: own.

5 Maxima It can replace Mathematica in its most common functions. Maxima is a system for the manipulation of symbolic and numerical expressions, including differentiation, integration, Taylor series, Laplace transforms, ordinary differential equations, systems of linear equations, polynomials, and sets, lists, vectors, matrices, and tensors. Source: Screenshot of wxmaxima under Lubuntu Source: own. 5

6 More Maxima... Maxima yields high precision numeric results by using exact fractions, arbitrary precision integers, and variable precision floating point numbers. It also has several user-contributed libraries for different purposes like physics, dynamical systems, etc. Maxima can plot functions and data in two and three dimensions. Source: Discrete dynamical systems library in Maxima. Source: own. 6

7 Scilab with Xcos It can replace Matlab and some Toolboxes. Matlab code, which is similar in syntax, can be converted to Scilab. It can be used for numerical computation providing a powerful computing environment for engineering and scientific applications. A large number of functionalities : Maths & Simulation. 2-D & 3-D Visualization. Optimization. Statistics. Control System Design & Analysis. Signal Processing. Application Development. Increase Scilab native functionalities and manage data exchanges with external tools. Xcos - Hybrid dynamic systems modeler and simulator. Modeling mechanical systems, hydraulic circuits, control systems... Text Source: Screenshot of Scilab 4.1 under GNU/Linux. Image Source: 7

8 Ipython with Spyder It can be used as a general purpose object oriented programming language with great mathematics, numerical methods, and many, many more libraries. Very flexible and easy to use programming language. IPython has two main components: Ipython running in Spyder IDE. Image source: An enhanced interactive Python shell. An architecture for interactive parallel computing. Text source: own. Mayavi2 3D visualization library running under Ipython. Source: enthought.com 8