On 11/27/2012 11:11 AM, Volker van Nek wrote:
> The topic of differential equations is only one among a lot of
> interesting mathematical topics. So I would like to answer a little
> bit more in general.
>
> I work with Maxima because it is powerful and released under the GNU
> GPL. Other software like Matlab or Maple which does not fulfill these
> two conditions is from my point of view completely useless. In the
> field of Mathematics I am only interested in a program which allows me
> to study the source code and to learn how mathematical algorithms are
> implemented in a programming language. The GPL allows users to change
> the source code, fix bugs, implement new features and use the program
> as they wish (under the terms of the GPL). And last not least the
> Maxima project itself is open for contributions.
>
> HTH
> Volker van Nek
>
> 2012/11/26 Fereshteh Zeynivand <fzeynivand at gmail.com>:
>> Dear Maxima users,
>>
>> May I have some reasons about choosing Maixma to work with in differential
>> equation? I mean why do you choose Maxima to work with, for example why not
>> Matlab or Maple?
>> It would be highly appreciated if you send me some comparison among the
>> from your point of view as Maxima users to put in my thesis about Maxima.
>>
>> Thank you to all Maxima user.
>>
>>
Hi Fereshteh,
I'm sorry that I haven't had time to answer the message you sent me a
few days ago. I agree with Volker. I have never tried to use Matlab or
Maple for the reasons he points out, so I cannot give you a comparison
with Maxima in the same sense that I could not tell you how my living in
a free country would compare with leaving under a military dictatorship :)
Regarding the difficulties that your students find with Maxima's syntax
compared to Matlab's, if I understand it correctly, Matlab was
originally designed to make numerical calculations; later on, a "plugin"
was added for symbolic calculations which is basically Maple. And I
think Maple's syntax is very similar to Maxima's. The complaint's might
then come from a student who has used Matlab only for numerical
calculations.
Once you get into symbolic calculations, there is an unavoidable
additional complexity with the syntax. Something similar to what happens
to a user who has mastered a simple text editor and decides to learn
LaTeX typesetting. One of the first difficulties is that you have to
transform visual 2d information into a clear 1d sequence. For instance,
the partial derivative: \frac{\partial^3(5xy^2)}{\partial x\partial y^2}
Maxima's syntax has necessarily to be even more precise: diff (5*x*y^2,
x, 1, y, 2)
I hope this helps. By the way, in which country are you teaching?
Cheers,
Jaime