Python vs Lisp: was RE: how to pass the name of avariable as argument?

1. It would presumably appeal to Matlab (or Octave) users to have a "Maxima
symbolic toolkit"
that accesses some part of Maxima, just as the existing Matlab has a
"(Maple) symbolic toolkit".
This would introduce Maxima to a whole additional group of users, a
different prospect from
introducing a different syntax to the existing Maxima user community.
Matlab syntax is not just "a little more well-known".  It is a lot more
well-known.

2. The commercial Macsyma has a switch that allows Matlab syntax; in
particular the colon syntax.
Doing the same kind of thing for Maxima should not be difficult.

RJF


> -----Original Message-----
> From: maxima-bounces at math.utexas.edu 
> [mailto:maxima-bounces at math.utexas.edu] On Behalf Of Robert Dodier
> Sent: Monday, May 19, 2008 9:51 PM
> To: ahmet alper parker
> Cc: maxima at math.utexas.edu
> Subject: Re: [Maxima] Python vs Lisp: was RE: how to pass the 
> name of avariable as argument?
> 
> On 5/18/08, ahmet alper parker <aaparker at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> > If this is so stupid, I am sorry :) I see matlab working 
> with mapple on
> > symbolic computation issues. Why not make it same for 
> octave and maxima? Can
> > we use octave as the language? (Or how they do it in matlab?).
> 
> Well, I don't see much value in replacing the Maxima user
> language with Matlab syntax. I guess it is a little more well-known
> but it's an ad-hoc language just like Maxima's.
> 
> However one feature of Matlab that I find very useful is the
> submatrix-indexing stuff, e.g. a[i, :] yields all elements in a row
> and a[:, j] yields all elements in a column, x[L] yields selected
> elements where L is a list of zeros and ones. I think there are
> maybe one or two other such constructs. I attempted to replicate
> that in Maxima, with some success, in the amatrix add-on package
> which I committed to maxima/share/contrib, but replacing the lone
> colon with the symbol 'all, and the 0/1 selection by false/true.
> 
> FWIW
> 
> Robert
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