|
2330
|
1 Subject: ANNOUNCING: Octave Version 1.2 |
|
|
2 |
|
|
3 Octave version 1.2 is now available for ftp from ftp.che.wisc.edu |
|
|
4 in the directory /pub/octave. Gzipped tar files are available along |
|
|
5 with a patch file relative to 1.1.0. Please read the comments at the |
|
|
6 top of the patch file if you choose to use it to upgrade your |
|
|
7 installation. |
|
|
8 |
|
|
9 This is a primarily a bug-fixing release, but there are a few new |
|
|
10 features. A list of user-visible changes since the last release is |
|
|
11 available in the file NEWS. The file ChangeLog in the source |
|
|
12 distribution contains a more detailed record of changes made since the |
|
|
13 last release. |
|
|
14 |
|
|
15 Most bugs reported since the release of 1.1.0 have been fixed. You |
|
|
16 can help make Octave more reliable by reporting any bugs you find. |
|
|
17 Please see the directions at the end of this announcement to find out |
|
|
18 how to ensure that the bugs you report will be fixed. |
|
|
19 |
|
|
20 Binaries for several popular systems are also available. If you would |
|
|
21 like help out by making binaries available for other systems, please |
|
|
22 contact bug-octave@bevo.che.wisc.edu. |
|
|
23 |
|
|
24 What is Octave? |
|
|
25 --------------- |
|
|
26 |
|
|
27 Octave is a high-level interactive language, primarily intended for |
|
|
28 numerical computations that is mostly compatible with Matlab. |
|
|
29 |
|
|
30 Octave can do arithmetic for real and complex scalars and matrices, |
|
|
31 solve sets of nonlinear algebraic equations, integrate functions over |
|
|
32 finite and infinite intervals, and integrate systems of ordinary |
|
|
33 differential and differential-algebraic equations. |
|
|
34 |
|
|
35 Octave uses the GNU readline library to handle reading and editing |
|
|
36 input. By default, the line editing commands are similar to the |
|
|
37 cursor movement commands used by GNU Emacs, and a vi-style line |
|
|
38 editing interface is also available. At the end of each session, the |
|
|
39 command history is saved, so that commands entered during previous |
|
|
40 sessions are not lost. |
|
|
41 |
|
|
42 The Octave distribution includes a 200+ page Texinfo manual. Access |
|
|
43 to the complete text of the manual is available via the help command |
|
|
44 at the Octave prompt. |
|
|
45 |
|
|
46 Two and three dimensional plotting is fully supported using gnuplot. |
|
|
47 |
|
|
48 The underlying numerical solvers are currently standard Fortran ones |
|
|
49 like Lapack, Linpack, Odepack, the Blas, etc., packaged in a library |
|
|
50 of C++ classes. If possible, the Fortran subroutines are compiled |
|
|
51 with the system's Fortran compiler, and called directly from the C++ |
|
|
52 functions. If that's not possible, you can still compile Octave if |
|
|
53 you have the free Fortran to C translator f2c. |
|
|
54 |
|
|
55 Octave is also free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it |
|
|
56 under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the |
|
|
57 Free Software Foundation. |
|
|
58 |
|
|
59 Instructions for obtaining Octave are given below. |
|
|
60 |
|
|
61 Where to get Octave |
|
|
62 ------------------- |
|
|
63 |
|
|
64 If you are on the Internet, you can copy the latest distribution |
|
|
65 version of Octave from the file /pub/octave/octave-M.N.tar.gz, on the |
|
|
66 host ftp.che.wisc.edu. This tar file has been compressed with GNU |
|
|
67 gzip, so be sure to use binary mode for the transfer. M and N stand |
|
|
68 for version numbers; look at a listing of the directory through ftp to |
|
|
69 see what version is available. After you unpack the distribution, be |
|
|
70 sure to look at the files README and INSTALL. |
|
|
71 |
|
|
72 Installation |
|
|
73 ------------ |
|
|
74 |
|
|
75 Octave requires approximately 50MB of disk storage to unpack and |
|
|
76 install (significantly less if you don't compile with debugging |
|
|
77 symbols). In order to build Octave, you will need a current version |
|
|
78 of g++, libg++, and GNU make. If you don't have these tools, you can |
|
|
79 get them from many anonymous ftp archives, including ftp.che.wisc.edu, |
|
|
80 ftp.uu.net, prep.ai.mit.edu, and wuarchive.wustl.edu, or by writing to |
|
|
81 the FSF at 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA. |
|
|
82 |
|
|
83 Octave has been compiled and tested with g++ and libg++ on a |
|
|
84 SPARCstation 2 running SunOS 4.1.2, an IBM RS/6000 running AIX 3.2.5, |
|
|
85 DEC Alpha systems running OSF/1 1.3 and 3.0, a DECstation 5000/240 |
|
|
86 running Ultrix 4.2a, and i486 systems running Linux. It should work |
|
|
87 on most other Unix systems that have a working port of g++ and libg++. |
|
|
88 |
|
|
89 Implementation |
|
|
90 -------------- |
|
|
91 |
|
|
92 Octave is being developed with GNU make, bison (a replacement for |
|
|
93 YACC), flex (a replacement for lex), gcc/g++, and libg++ on Sun |
|
|
94 SPARCstations, DEC DECstations, and IBM RS/6000s. It should be |
|
|
95 easy to port it to any machine that has a working port of gcc/g++. |
|
|
96 |
|
|
97 The underlying numerical solvers are currently standard Fortran ones |
|
|
98 like Lapack, Linpack, Odepack, the Blas, etc., packaged in a library |
|
|
99 of C++ classes (see the files in the libcruft and liboctave |
|
|
100 subdirectories). If possible, the Fortran subroutines are compiled |
|
|
101 with the system's Fortran compiler, and called directly from the C++ |
|
|
102 functions. If that's not possible, they are translated with f2c and |
|
|
103 compiled with a C compiler. Better performance is usually achieved if |
|
|
104 the intermediate translation to C is avoided. |
|
|
105 |
|
|
106 The library of C++ classes may also be useful by itself, and they are |
|
|
107 distributed under the same terms as Octave. |
|
|
108 |
|
|
109 Bugs |
|
|
110 ---- |
|
|
111 |
|
|
112 Please report any problems you have to |
|
|
113 |
|
|
114 bug-octave@bevo.che.wisc.edu |
|
|
115 |
|
|
116 Your bug reports play an essential role in making Octave reliable. |
|
|
117 |
|
|
118 Reporting a bug may help you by bringing a solution to your problem, |
|
|
119 or it may not. In any case, the principal function of a bug report |
|
|
120 is to help the entire community by making the next version of Octave |
|
|
121 work better. Bug reports are your contribution to the maintenance of |
|
|
122 Octave. |
|
|
123 |
|
|
124 The file BUGS in the top level directory of the source distribution |
|
|
125 contains more information about how to provide useful bug reports. |
|
|
126 |
|
|
127 Comments and suggestions are also always welcome. |
|
|
128 |
|
|
129 -- |
|
|
130 John W. Eaton |
|
|
131 jwe@bevo.che.wisc.edu |
|
|
132 University of Wisconsin-Madison |
|
|
133 Department of Chemical Engineering |
