Octave

One of the most useful functions of a computer, that which represents the backbone of every modern device is programming. There are various applications that let you express your ideas and virtually bring them to life. Octave is a programming language oriented towards numerical computations, with emphasis on developing software for bioinformatics, mechanics and instrument control.

Available as individual packages for both Visual Studio and MinGW, Octave’s primary purpose is bent on providing a high-level language that sports high compatibility with Matlab.

Numerical experiments, support for linear and nonlinear equations, polynomial manipulation, as well as other common algebra problems are all within Octave’s range of possibilities.

Octave provides a command line approach for the applications being built inside it, although the development of non-interactive problems is supported as well.

The program is presented inside a large-sized package, no matter if you opt for the VS or MinGW approach, with the former being packed inside an installer and the latter, slightly larger, inside an archive.

Regardless of your choice, Octave sports flexibility, allowing you to use the collection of libraries bundled inside it to develop math related projects, as well as to extend it through user-defined functions that can be written inside Octave itself or by loading modules developed in other programming languages.

Aside from delivering a library set that allows for the programming of numerical systems, Octave also bundles support for extensive graphics, which include data manipulation and visualization.

On an ending note, Octave has proven throughout its years of existence that it’s a reliable programming language, capable of sustaining developers in their endeavor to create math and physics applications without paying a dime.