Re: Comfortable Octave usage on Windows

[Sergei Steshenko]

--- On Thu, 4/30/09, Frank Luis Enrique <address@hidden> wrote:

> From: Frank Luis Enrique <address@hidden>
> Subject: Re: Comfortable Octave usage on Windows
> To: "Sergei Steshenko" <address@hidden>
> Cc: address@hidden, "maiky76" <address@hidden>
> Date: Thursday, April 30, 2009, 7:13 AM
> 2009/4/30, Sergei Steshenko <address@hidden>:
> >
> >
> >
> >  --- On Wed, 4/29/09, maiky76 <address@hidden>
> wrote:
> >
> >  > From: maiky76 <address@hidden>
> >  > Subject: Re: Comfortable Octave usage on
> Windows
> >
> > > To: address@hidden
> >
> > > Date: Wednesday, April 29, 2009, 8:35 PM
> >
> >
> >  Sometimes I think that people who grew up with
> GUI-based OSes have severely
> >  crippled thinking abilities. I.e. they can't
> think "outside the (GUI ?)
> >  box".
> >
> 
> Thanks for your sincerity!Now it becomes clear for me that
> I'm not the
> target user the developers of octave expect. I don't use
> linux, I
> don't compile my own codes, and I don't use software with
> which I feel
> unconfortable. Simplistic? May be.
> 
> What I don´t understand is why you pursue compatibility
> with matlab.
> Obviously matlab is commercial software intended for second
> class
> users like me. Why not better define a better code for you
> yourselves?

[snip]

First of all, I am not an 'octave' developer.

And I actually started from PDL ( http://pdl.perl.org/ ), used some
scilab ( http://www.scilab.org/ ).

I started using 'octave' because I thought I would need its toolboxes
(octave-forge), but, luckily, I ended up needing only basic functionality,
i.e. even though I build packages, I use built-in features.

Along the way I came across Maxima/wxMaxima ( maxima.sourceforge.net )
and later on Axiom ( http://www.axiom-developer.org/ ) and its derivatives
- from reading more than 500 pages Axiom manual I like Axiom language
very much.

There is also NumPy/SciPy ( http://scipy.org/ ), though I personally don't 
like Python (and like Perl), the package appears to be very powerful and 
versatile.

There is also 'sage' ( http://www.sagemath.org/ ).

My point is that 'octave' developers had their reasons to be compatible
with MatLab - probably this was a condition in their grants, and this is
their right to target specific audience.

I personally do not (yet ?) care about MatLab compatibility. Had I had a
need to use scripts developed for MatLab, I would care.

Frank, regarding your preferences - either you pay for what you want, or
you adjust yourself.

The text editor solution I proposed is simple and free (both as in "beer"
and in "speech").

When I deal with commercial SW (I am from VLSI/EDA/CAD area), my main
concern is the ability to run it _without_ GUI - I worked a lot as
automation guru/expert, and if I have to do something twice (and complex
things even one time), I write a script.

The suggestion to think out of (GUI) box - regardless of the OS and
application - still stands.

Regards,
  Sergei.