Re: Mathematica vs. MACSYMA

From: Matthias (no_at_spam.pls)
Date: 12/21/04 

Date: 21 Dec 2004 09:51:25 +0100

"symbio" <symbio@has.com> writes:
> MACSYMA is free, however it's old.

As far as I know, MACSYMA is still sold commercially. There is a free
version based on oder sources called Maxima. I've only looked at it
briefly. My impression was that in terms of documentation, features,
bug-removal it has quite a while to go before it matches Mathematica
(or Maple).

Maxima might be a very cool project if you want to learn about CAS and
are not afraid of slightly old-style LISP code.

If you are just a CAS _user_ and happy with a slightly out-of-date
software you'll be better off if you _simply_ _don't_ _update_ your
current version of Mathematica. While not as cool as Maxima (Lisp,
source code, long history), it is the more practical solution right
now.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Which CAS have a better survival chance?
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    (sci.math.symbolic)
  • Re: performance and eloquence
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    (comp.lang.lisp)
  • Re: How to embed Maxima in Common Lisp?
    ... «Maxima does not include any of the numerous enhancements made to the ... commercial version of Macsyma between 1982-1999 (at least 50 man-years ... interchangeably on each platform since they are each implemented in ... his CL code with Maxima, should consider this as an alternative. ...
    (comp.lang.lisp)
  • Re: Mathematica software
    ... I believe you are looking for Maxima. ... The Maxima source code can be compiled on many systems, ... Maxima is a descendant of Macsyma, ... such as Maple and Mathematica, ...
    (Ubuntu)