Maxima for numerical methods (v. Scilab)?

Nicolas Pettiaux wrote:

>> >> It seems I may be teaching an elementary subject in numerical 
>> computation
>> >> next semester.  The usual sorts of things: error analysis, 
>> solution of
>> >> equations, interpolation, eigenvalues and eigenvectors, quadrature,
>> >> differential equations.  I want to base the subject around free 
>> software,
>> >> so the students can use it at home.
>>
>

I think that was SAGE (http://sage.scipy.org/) you are thinking of.
It has an octave interface, includes maxima, is written in
Python, and it is very easy to drop scipy into it. It is basically
command-line driven and does not (yet) have a nice looking gui like 
maxima though.

I must say I admire very much the orginal poster's motivation to use 
open source
software for his teaching. However, at this date I worry that SAGE is 
too hard
(currntly) for an average windows-using student to set up by themselves. 
I hope I am
wrong (I don't use windows myself) but I don't want to give the wrong 
impression.
Also, for much of what you want to do, there isn't much written down
about how to interface SAGE with the commands in octave, scipy and maxima
that you would want, so you'd have to read SAGE code, the maxima manual, 
and the octave or
scipy manual. It would be work (but fun work, to me anyway:-).


>
> Thanks,
>
> Nicolas
> -- 
> Nicolas Pettiaux - email: nicolas.pettiaux at ael.be
>
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