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GNU Octave 3.0 Released After 11 Years
Digana writes "GNU Octave is a free numerical computing environment highly compatible with the MATLAB language. After 11 years of development since version 2.0, stable version 3.0 released yesterday. This version is interesting because unlike other free or semi-free MATLAB competitors like Scilab, specific compatibility with MATLAB code is a design goal. This has manifested itself in goodies like better support for MATLAB's Handle Graphics, a syntax closer to MATLAB's own for many functions, and many functions from the sister project Octave-Forge ported to the core Octave project for an enriched functionality closer to the toolboxes provided by MATLAB. GUI development is underway, but still no JIT compiling, which is a show-stopper for Octave newbies coming from MATLAB with unvectorized code."
For a lot of projects, the major number indicates binary compatibility.
For example, in KDE 3, a KDE 3.0 app would run on the latest KDE 3.5.8 libraries, but not on KDE 4.
The second number indicates new API. a program written for, say, KDE 3.5 might not work on KDE 3.4 if it uses any of the new functions.
The third number is just minor patches and fixes, and shouldn't break anything.
I have been using Octave heavily over the past few years (and done a little light development), and I can say for certain that development is accelerating. In the last few years, there have been several new large contributors. One of them has made significant improvements to getting the bleeding edge Octave running with all the bells and whistles and installers on Windows, another dedicated to putting out binaries for Macs. All the core distributions have fully optimized Octave packages available. Most of the handle graphics compatibility has been done in the last 12 months. I know there is a push by people who are not the core developers to make an IDE (some based on Eclipse, others on GtkSourceView/VTE, others on QT). There has been work to make the debugger better. I guess my point is that a lot of project like this can take time to develop critical mass and that I think Octave is well on its way. Just as an aside, I think the design and implementation of Octave is great. It is the first kindof big open source project that I have really been able to wrap my head around in terms of understanding the code base and where things are/how to hack on it.
Define not "not treating customers well."
I've called them with a fairly high level support problem. I got patched directly through to an engineer and within 7 hours (we had been pounding our heads against the wall for a week) we had a solution.
I've heard numerous other stories of similar fate (which is where I got the idea to call).
While Octave is fine for supporting *most* of the features of Matlab. There is a segment of the market that Octave is never going to touch. Simulink, most of the extra toolboxes, direct from Simulink to ECM Flash software. Some of the high level Power Sim blocks, hardware in the loop stuff (From dSpace). "Matlab" is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Mathworks software. We even have people writing S-Functions, I'm picking up MEX to speed up some data routines.
I live and breathe on Matlab and for most of the stuff I do, Octave won't touch it. For 'us' Octave will never be competitive.
No, he isn't lying.
MATLAB did the same thing to us, made us pay maintenance for all the years that it had lapsed, because we wanted to upgrade an users' desktop to the latest version.
Guess what my desktop runs now?