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Open Source Symbolic Math Packages?

Posted by Cliff on from the here-we-go-again dept.

3Suns asks: "There are many proprietary symbolic mathematics suites available, including Mathcad, Mathematica, and Maple. Strangely, I can't find a single free software project with similar functionality. These programs are as ubiquitous in universities and engineering companies as they are expensive. Given the deep roots of open-source in higher education, what can explain the lack of free/open-source mathematics software?" We last addressed this question three years ago, but a lot can change in that time. Has it?

1 of 46 comments (clear)

  1. Re:A book on computer algebra by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Yeah... you pretty much need to be a genius... not a "Donald Knuth" genius, but a "PhD at age 17" genius. Dr Wolfram (Mathematica) for example.