GNU Octave

GNU Octave is a super handy open-source software that you can use for all sorts of numerical computations. It's designed to be user-friendly and flexible, making it great for anyone who needs to crunch numbers.

What Can You Do with GNU Octave?

This software can help you solve both linear and nonlinear problems. Plus, you can run various numerical experiments with it. If you're familiar with Matlab, you'll love that GNU Octave is compatible with it. It works as a batch-oriented language too!

Useful Features of GNU Octave

GNU Octave comes packed with tools that let you tackle common numerical linear algebra issues. Want to manipulate polynomials? No problem! How about integrating ordinary functions or finding the roots of nonlinear equations? It's got you covered! You can even work on ordinary differential-algebraic equations.

Extending GNU Octave

If you're feeling creative, you can add your own features using dynamically loaded modules or user-defined functions. These can be written in Octave's programming language or in C, C++, Fortran, and more!

How to Install GNU Octave

You have two easy ways to install GNU Octave on a GNU/Linux operating system. The first one is pretty straightforward: just search for the "octave" package in the Software Center app (like Synaptic Package Manager) on your system.

The second method lets you grab the latest version but involves a bit of terminal work. If you're up for it, download the latest source package from Softpedia or from the project's official homepage (here). Save it to your PC and unpack it.

Getting Started After Installation

Once you've got everything set up, open your terminal emulator app. Use the 'cd' command followed by where you saved those files (for example, 'cd /home/softpedia/octave-3.8.2'). Next, run './configure && make' to get things ready and then 'sudo make install' to finish up the installation. To start using it, just type 'octave' in your command-line interface.

The Tech Behind GNU Octave

If you're curious about how GNU Octave works under the hood—it's all written in C++. We've installed it on different distributions like Arch Linux and Ubuntu following these steps. And yes, it's compatible with both 32-bit and 64-bit systems!