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<HTML>
<HEAD>
<!-- This HTML file has been created by texi2html 1.51
from ./Octave-FAQ.texi on 9 October 1998 -->
<TITLE>Frequently asked questions about Octave (with answers) - What is Octave?</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
Go to the first, previous, <A HREF="Octave-FAQ_2.html">next</A>, <A HREF="Octave-FAQ_11.html">last</A> section, <A HREF="Octave-FAQ_toc.html">table of contents</A>.
<P><HR><P>
<P>
<P>
This is a list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) for Octave users.
</P>
<P>
Some information in this FAQ was written for earlier versions of
Octave and may now be obsolete.
</P>
<P>
I'm looking for new questions (<EM>with</EM> answers), better answers,
or both. Please send suggestions to bug-octave@bevo.che.wisc.edu.
If you have general questions about Octave, or need help for something
that is not covered by the Octave manual or the FAQ, please use the
help-octave@bevo.che.wisc.edu mailing list.
</P>
<P>
This FAQ is intended to supplement, not replace, the Octave manual.
Before posting a question to the help-octave mailing list, you should
first check to see if the topic is covered in the manual.
</P>
<H1><A NAME="SEC1" HREF="Octave-FAQ_toc.html#TOC1">What is Octave?</A></H1>
<P>
Octave is a high-level interactive language, primarily intended for
numerical computations that is mostly compatible with
MATLAB.<A NAME="DOCF1" HREF="Octave-FAQ_foot.html#FOOT1">(1)</A>
</P>
<P>
Octave can do arithmetic for real and complex scalars and matrices,
solve sets of nonlinear algebraic equations, integrate functions over
finite and infinite intervals, and integrate systems of ordinary
differential and differential-algebraic equations.
</P>
<P>
Octave uses the GNU readline library to handle reading and editing
input. By default, the line editing commands are similar to the
cursor movement commands used by GNU Emacs, and a vi-style line
editing interface is also available. At the end of each session, the
command history is saved, so that commands entered during previous
sessions are not lost.
</P>
<P>
The Octave distribution includes a 200+ page Texinfo manual. Access
to the complete text of the manual is available via the help command
at the Octave prompt.
</P>
<P>
Two and three dimensional plotting is fully supported using gnuplot.
</P>
<P>
The underlying numerical solvers are currently standard Fortran ones
like Lapack, Linpack, Odepack, the Blas, etc., packaged in a library
of C++ classes. If possible, the Fortran subroutines are compiled
with the system's Fortran compiler, and called directly from the C++
functions. If that's not possible, you can still compile Octave if
you have the free Fortran to C translator f2c.
</P>
<P>
Octave is also free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the
Free Software Foundation.
</P>
<P><HR><P>
Go to the first, previous, <A HREF="Octave-FAQ_2.html">next</A>, <A HREF="Octave-FAQ_11.html">last</A> section, <A HREF="Octave-FAQ_toc.html">table of contents</A>.
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