![]() ![]() However, if you use Sage, you can utilize Maxima even if you only know Python. For example, Maxima is written in Lisp, so you would have to learn some of it to become proficient with the program. Sage is actually made out of more than 90 different mathematical packages – one of which is Maxima – all integrated under a single interface with which you can communicate using only Python. If you already know Python, you won’t be bogged down learning a new language just to use the software.ģ) Sage includes Maxima. Python is a free programming language and it’s very easy to learn. With Sage, it’s affordable, you don’t have to pay more for newer versions, and the fact that it’s open source means you can actively participate in the development community.Ģ) Sage uses Python. If you want to use it for work, it’s a whopping $2500 for an individual license – and you can only install it on one machine. Mathematica, on the other hand, is proprietary software and a home license costs $300. Sage, in particular, has several benefits over Mathematca:ġ) Sage is open source software, which means you can freely download, modify and distribute its source code. So to get it working on Windows, you have to port those other projects to Windows as well.After spending some time experimenting with Mathematica, Maxima, and Sage, I’ve finally decided to use Sage as my primary computer algebra system (CAS)! In short, computer algebra systems act like high-performance calculators, and their primary strength lies in the fact that they can manipulate mathematical expressions in symbolic form. Some distributions don’t like it for that reason (redundancy). It basically has custom versions of many large Linux projects within it. That’s a common problem with many open source projects (and it’s not their fault).Īlso, knowing how Sage is built, it’d be a *major* challenge to get it running on Windows. Likely they want a Windows version, but need developers familiar with Windows, and few/none have signed up. They probably meant that their developers are Linux developers, and don’t know much about Windows. It wasn’t at all difficult – however it does take hours to compile.Īs for their disregard for Windows, perhaps they were careless in phrasing. I’ve compiled various versions of Sage on my Linux box over the years. But regarding SymPy, are you sure it’s good enough? I know I looked at it some months ago and ruled it out for what I was trying to do (or maybe I just couldn’t do what I needed due to unfamiliarity). The Python stack for applied math-SciPy, NumPy, Pandas, Matplotlib, etc.-is better integrated than it used to be, but it still remains a collection of separate libraries. The disadvantage to Python relative to Mathematica is that it is less consistent and less integrated. And perhaps more importantly, other people that you want to share code with don’t have to buy licenses you might find a Mathematica license a good investment for your company, but you can’t expect everyone you work with to necessarily come to the same conclusion. It is of course free, so you don’t have to buy software licenses, saving not only money but administrative hassle. When something goes wrong, you can dig in and debug it. It is open source, and so it is more transparent. Python has numerous advantages over Mathematica. The number and quality of Python libraries for applied mathematics has increased greatly over that time. Since that time I have used Python as my default programming environment, though I still use Mathematica as well. I wrote this post years ago when I was just starting to move to the Python stack. One of the things I find promising about Python is that I may be able to do more in Python and reduce the number of programming languages I use regularly. I started using Emacs again because I was frustrated with using a different editor for every kind of file. The SymPy library appears to have the symbolic functionality I need, though I’m as not sure about this one.Īs I’ve blogged about before, I’d like to consolidate my tools. The core mathematical functions I need are in SciPy. ![]() I found I use less of Mathematica than I imagined. I skimmed through some of my Mathematica files to see what functions I use and then looked for Python counterparts. Even though Mathematica has a mind-boggling amount of functionality, I only use a tiny proportion of it. Everything I do regularly in Mathematica can be done in Python.
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