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3 awesome free Math programs
By Antonio Cangiano. Filed under Software
Mathematical software can be very expensive. Programs like Mathematica, Maple and Matlab are incredibly powerful, flexible and usually well documented and supported. Their price tags however are a big let down for many people, even if there are cheap (in some cases crippled) versions available for educational purposes (if you are a student or a teacher). The secondary disadvantages are those caused by the fact that such programs are proprietary. This can also affect or limit a “sharing oriented” environment like the academic and research fields. In this short article I propose well known programs that will give you a lot of flexibility and math crunching fun. And with no cost, they are great for all the different careers with a math degree. All of them have advantages and drawbacks and none of them can be considered perfect or infallible, but I consider them some of the best available today in their respective categories. They are rather general purpose softwares, but there are plenty of other specialized open source programs if you have specific needs. I’ve chosen one program for each of the 3 macro categories: symbolic, numeric and statistical computing, but you can expect quite a bit of overlapping and shared functionalities. Try the three of them, try the suggested alternatives and settle with the ones that you like and that meet your needs the best.
1. Maxima
A general purpose CAS (Computer Algebra System) is a program that’s able to perform symbolic manipulation for the resolution of common problems. As a matter of fact, modern CAS covers an extremely wide range of functionalities. Maple is a prime example of a commercial CAS software. In this category I’d say that Maxima is an excellent open source cross platform tool. wxMaxima is a good GUI version (possibly the best one on Windows), but other front-ends exist. The 3D plot below was generated by Maxima.
Valuable mentions are:
2. Scilab
Matlab is the standard for numerical computing, but there are a few clones and valid alternatives that are entirely free. Scilab is the closest that you can get to Matlab without spending a penny. It’s very compatible with Matlab (albeit not 100%) but it’s really flexible, powerful and comes with a Matlab converter and Scicos which is a block diagram modeler and simulator.
Valid alternatives are:
3. R
For statistical computing and analysis in the Open Source world, it doesn’t get any better than R. It is a programming language and environment that enables you to do pretty much anything that the commercial software (S-Plus) does. It is so widely adopted that it can be considered a standard in the field.
As usual, please feel free to share your experiences and add your suggestions to enrich the discussion.
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80 Responses to “3 awesome free Math programs”
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If you want more programmable flexibility and know Python, you should also check out Numpy and Scipy: http://scipy.org and http://numpy.scipy.org.
[...] En este artículo se nombran tres programas que pueden ser una alternativa libre y gratuíta: [...]
Bit of a plug for something I wrote years ago and have been giving away free ever since: http://www.flat502.com/newt/
The source isn’t available yet, but with enough motivation I’ll put some time aside and move it to something like SourceForge.
Checkout my free speed arithmetic program I made in flash too (link) it’s only 33kb
How about Geogebra, the Open Source dynamic geometry application? I love it
The student wersion of Mathematica is cheap and far from crippled. I believe anything printed using it notes that the document was printed using the student version, but otherwise the student version is identical to the commercial version.
When i was student on electronic and signal search in france, i use to program on this amazing tools.
Matlab and scilab.I use to create mini-software with menu, and a lot of functions.
I use to work for signal treatment, and we modelize it on matlab.I create a software for “science” that can underline points on a pictures (example: eyes in different color, to show some kind of anormal status for eyes, in order to help doctor to make a diagnostic for patient…)
This tool is so nice because it permits you to create software easily with a debugg simple.
But like all things there is so stuff to learn before.
I use to work 5 mois on this tool , but now it’s been a long time i ‘ve never use it.
It was my school stage so it is passed.
So, this was my experience.
[...] 原文来自：Mathblog [...]
[...] 3 awesome free Math programs Maxima - A general purpose CAS (Computer Algebra System) is a program that’s able to perform symbolic manipulation for the resolution of common problems. As a matter of fact, modern CAS covers an extremely wide range of functionalities … Scilab - Matlab is the standard for numerical computing, but there are a few clones and valid alternatives that are entirely free. Scilab is the closest that you can get to Matlab without spending a penny. It’s very compatible with Matlab (albeit not 100%) but it’s really flexible, powerful and comes with a Matlab converter and Scicos which is a block diagram modeler and simulator. [...]
Have you heard of mathematica? that is probably one of the more powerful packages and definitely better than the options you have posted here.
@Peter
I program in Python and like both NumPy and SciPy. In this article I just wanted to cover full software packages rather than APIs for specific languages. Thanks for your comment.
@JamesG
From the screenshots it looks promising. You should definitely think about open sourcing it. Thanks for commenting and working on this.
@Jimmy
Your little program is nice but it obviously has a different audience than the aforementioned programs.
@Robert Jones
I love that program! It’s very nice and has won many awards. I actually thought about including it in the post, but then opted for the main 3 categories of general purpose Math software.
@ed priman
Thanks for pointing this out. I’m happy to learn that their educational version is fully functional. It’s still very good that there are free alternatives though.
@Mark
Did you read the article, Mark?
I mentioned and even linked to Mathematica. Unfortunately Mathematica is not free, and in this article I list software that won’t cost you a dime. 
There’s also freemat at http://freemat.sf.net - it’s highly matlab compatible, and free (both gratis and libre)
[...] read more | digg story [...]
Or for real mathematics, there’s GAP, which allows you to manipulate groups, permutations, graphs, rewriting systems, Lie algebras, etc, using a Python-like language. Lots of standard algorithms for computational algebra are implemented in the standard library. Disclaimer: I’ve only played with it, not used it for anything serious.
For several–specific–numerical mathematical routines, there is also the following URL:
http://www.akiti.ca/Mathfxns.html
The routines posted off this page are based on good-quality code, mostly from the NETLIB repository of algorithms. Very handy (quick, easy-to-use, and free!) for when numbers are required, but a user might not want to install and start up a whole software package.
– Robert
Octave is an excellent Matlab clone. It uses gnuplot for graphs and it is extremely compatible with matlab.
http://www.gnu.org/software/octave/
Amjith,
thanks for you comment but GNU Octave is already listed in the article as a valid alternative to Scilab.
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awesome tools!
Jenny
3 Awesome Math Programs(3個超棒的數學繪圖程式)
講到電腦的數學運算程式，免不了要提這三個 Mathematica, Maple 和 Matlab，雖然他們功能超級強大(強大到甚至有些你根本也不會用到也不知道的功能)，但是他們的價錢可不是開玩笑的高。
下面的…
You do give it a mention, but I think you are really undervaluing SAGE. It uses python to tie together a number of open-source programs in a common format and can be used either by a command line or using your web browser as a GUI. The standard distribution contains Maxima, GAP, PARI, Singular, NetworkX, and much more. A number of open-source packages besides those in the standard distribution can be added if desired, and it has built-in interfaces to Axiom, Octave, Maple, Mathematica and Matlab as well.
On its own, SAGE is a great way to get a lot of great open-source software in one easy package, and it is fantastic at getting all kinds of packages working together.
[...] 3 awesome free math programs [...]
[...] 3 awesome free Math programs (tags: math matlab statistics algebra viapopular free) [...]
[...] libres Notas Escribe un comentario! [3-06-07] Leyendo Digg me entero de 3 excelentes programas para matemática, son de código abierto así que los puedes bajar gratis. Los programas son: Maxima, Scilab y [...]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_%28plotting_tool%29
For 2D plots, I recommend “Grace” (http://plasma-gate.weizmann.ac.il/Grace/).
good information
Ajay George Palakuzhy
[...] 3 awesome free Math programs Mathematical software can be very expensive. Programs like Mathematica, Maple and Matlab are incredibly powerful, flexible and usually well documented and supported. Their price tags however are a big let down, here’s an alterative: Maxima, Scilab & R. (tags: math-blog mathematics freeware software opensource algebra diagram plotter modeler simulator statistics maxima scilab r) [...]
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I was hoping to see GNUPlot here…
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Great apps, didn’t know about Maxima
Interesting tools
[ENG] Herramientas matemáticas Open Source
Nadie duda que programas como Mathematica, Matlab o Maple son realmente potentes, con buena documentación y soporte. Pero sus precios los hacen inaccesibles para muchos y las versiones para estudiantes suelen tener menos funciones. Otra desventaja es …
very good, thanks! I think I’ll need these ones for university
Nice. Currently compiling a list of software for use in the University learning environments so this is great.
[...] awesome free Math programs 3 06 2007 3 awesome free Math programs zal zeker voor mensen van de technische faculteiten wel een kijkje waard [...]
If you need a free online charting service:
http://www.chartAll.com
A free general purpose charting tool (2D, 3D, Maps, etc):
http://www.steema.com/products/teechart/office/overview.html
Aweasome list. Bookmarked and linked. Thx.
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[...] I propose well known programs that will give you a lot of flexibility and math crunching fun… [More: Math Blog] Posted by Pejman Habibi on June 2nd, 2007 with no comments. Read more articles on Science & [...]
[...] This article provides pointers to the free replacements for Mathematica, Maple, Matlab and S-Plus.read more | digg [...]
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These are pretty nice tools! Thanks.
What do you guys think about Maple?
[...] Link to Top Open Source Mathematical Programs [...]
All very good stuff here.
Has anyone seen Mathematica Demonstrations, now free online and IMHO powerful? I think they and their free Integrate show the way ahead for all of Mathematica ie give it away Adobe style. Their corporate fees from uni’s and commercial users must be enough to float their massive and science-shaping enterprise, plus fund the media areas they need to get into to share the social science advances they make.
That said, the FLOSS math programs are brilliant for all the good reasons. I have just one hesitation: time spent re-inventing low level stuff by math folk who could be doing cutting edge stuff that would benefit themselves and all of us. (Do we stop discovering things by 25?) The counter-argument is also true: if we allow the cathedral to be the only inventor, our brains narrow. Luckily we have free will and live for now on a very rich planet, so can afford both approaches.
But let’s keep an eye on the other ball as well. Luckily able people work so quickly they can use both well, and this multi-tasking stimulates ideas.
It is designed for more than just Math, but offering Scientific and other Units for Java, JScience (http://www.jscience.org) also is a very useful framework for Mathematics.
There are other Scientific and Mathematic libraries built on top of it.
See the JScience website for more information.
[...] 50,000 people read my article 3 awesome free Math programs. Chances are that at least some of them downloaded and installed Maxima. If you are one of them but [...]
[...] Read the original source… [...]
no mention of PARI GP?!
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Best soft for data analysis (aka. numerical computations) is programmed by CERN particle accelerator physicists themselfs - ROOT.
CERN LHC collider will generate data about some Petabytes / year. This data should be analysed by physicists. What program should be able to do this job better than ROOT ?
http://root.cern.ch/
Hi
I must do graphs and translations. Geometer Sketchpad is very good, but not open source. Do you know of any such program?
Rika
@rika
Hi Rika,
try GeoGebra and take a look at this list of software on Wikipedia.
Does anyone know whether there is a pdf version of the Maxima manual?
[...] 3 awesome free Math programs Mathematical software can be very expensive. Mathematica, Maple and Matlab are incredibly powerful, flexible and usually well documented and supported. Their price tags however are a big let down even if there are cheap (in some cases crippled) versions (tags: math software mathematics freeware opensource) [...]
[...] http://math-blog.com/2007/06/02/3-awesome-free-math-programs/ [...]
I agree with u, these are wonderful programs.
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This is very good.It will be usefull to me.
Thanks for sharing these open source softwares.
I’m a little surprised that the links you included for math software (Mathematica, Maple and [sic] Matlab) led to Wikipedia, rather than the software vendors’ Web pages, such as this one for MATLAB:
http://www.mathworks.com/
-Will
Does one of these programs is capable of solving partial differential equations [both analytically and numerically] and plotting their graphs? [I'm especially interested in wave equation and Schroedinger equation].
Perfect choice of programs.
The only comment I have is about scilab - I use it (and can use it) because I know Matlab inside out and scilab is quite similar.
The only aspect in which Matlab is greatly superior to scilab is documentation. I think if I had started using scilab the same way I started Matlab (essentially self-taught, just had to solve some programming problems in a lab), in spite of some programming experience I would probably have not gotten far because of lacking documentation and examples, abundant in the Matlab help.
The program itself is just as good …
Very cool - thanks!
Grapher on OS X is pretty sweet too.
This realy helped me
thanks!
Does any of these freewares do dimensional analysis?
[...] 3 awesome free Math programs | Math-Blog [...]
hi,
In the finance industry, which is the preferred CAS/numerical computing software
by both quant engineers and/or software developers ?
Thanks in advance.
[...] 参考链接：http://math-blog.com/2007/06/02/3-awesome-free-math-programs/ [...]
hi,
In the finance industry, which is the preferred CAS/numerical computing software
by both quant engineers and/or software developers ?
Thanks in advance.
Gracias por el articulo