[sdiy] OT: Mathcad users?

[James Hughes]

I was going to mention scipy/numpy, too. I'm starting to use it for audio stuff since I take issue with matlab's proprietary and closed nature. I'm not a huge python fan, but scipy/numpy are just incredible. There's nothing else quite like it in a high level interpreted language.

For formatting equations, don't forget the venerable LaTeX.

These tools are very good at what they do, but the learning curve can be substantial. In terms of user friendliness, they're certainly no Microsoft equation editor. But then you'll be hard pressed to outgrow them.

On Sep 16, 2013, at 12:48 AM, Olivier Gillet <ol.gillet at gmail.com> wrote:

> The Mat in Matlab is that of "Matrix", and not "Mathematics". It is
> primarily a numerical computation tool - to evaluate programs and
> expression on arrays of data - which makes it a tool of choice for
> signal and image processing. Its symbolic processing options (solving,
> manipulating algebraic expressions) are optional and not really what
> people are using the program for.
> 
> Octave and Scilab are both open-source clones of Matlab. Both of them
> are incompatible with matlab code, which make them kind of pointless
> for serious work where one has to reuse reference implementations
> available as matlab toolboxes. They are OK for teaching though.
> 
> I'm surprised no one has mentioned scipy - which is my tool of choice
> for numerical duties and plotting, from an iPython shell. For those
> who prefer IDEs and "Notebook" like interfaces, there's this ongoing
> project -> www.sagemath.org
> 
> On Mon, Sep 16, 2013 at 4:34 AM, Dan Snazelle <subjectivity at hotmail.com> wrote:
>> Ive been noticing matlab code in more and more books on digital audio
>> 
>> Does it also work as a self-teaching tool? Mathmatica seems like it might be good for exploring/learning math
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>> On Sep 15, 2013, at 8:41 PM, rsdio at sounds.wa.com wrote:
>> 
>>> It's nowhere near as powerful, but Apple ships Grapher with OSX. In Grapher, you can type equations and see them graphed alongside each other, in 2D or 3D. This is a great way to check out a new formula or even a circuit idea. I recently used Grapher to get an idea of the response from adding parallel resistance to the wiper of a pot (note, it's not linear). But there are many limitations compared to the huge environment of MATLAB or similar.
>>> 
>>> Brian
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> Has anyone here used Mathcad http://www.ptc.com/product/mathcad ?
>>>> 
>>>> Any thoughts, tips, probs, etc?
>>>> 
>>>> I'll be using it as part of a course I'm doing so I don't really have a
>>>> choice regarding alternatives - but if you have a preference for something
>>>> similar I'd be interested to hear about it.
>>> 
>>> 
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