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For scientific computing: Matlab: it takes way too much Fortran code to solve Ax=b Octave: Matlab is closed-source (and expensive) Julia: Matlab was designed

For scientific computing: Matlab: it takes way too much Fortran code to solve Ax=b Octave: Matlab is closed-source (and expensive) Julia: Matlab was designed by people who knew a lot more about numerical analysis than programming language design Python + SciPy: you don't actually need a whole new language just to solve Ax=b TeX: it's taking too long for people to typeset my books

seanmcdirmid 13y ago
LaTeX: It's taking too long to typeset my books in TeX. Markdown: XML sucks for writing things by hand R: because Perl isn't dangerous enough
herokusaki 13y ago
Surely you mean NumPy, not SciPy.
- jdleesmiller 13y ago
  Yes, that's a good point. I guess for SciPy you'd have to add "and plot the results"?
rbonvall 13y ago
Actually for TeX it is “modern math typesetting is ugly”: In the late 1970s, Donald Knuth was revising the second volume of his multivolume magnum opus The Art of Computer Programming, got the galleys, looked at them, and said (approximately) "blecch"! He had just received his first samples from the new typesetting system of the publisher's, and its quality was so far below that of the first edition of Volume 2 that he couldn't stand it. http://www.tug.org/whatis.html http://www.tug.org/whatis.html
midas007 13y ago
R: Another Octave TOML: Because INI files, JSON and YAML parsers are either too hard to read or write sane parsers for (It's not a language, but hey data formats are people too.) Elixir: Because I want to be a Ruby hipster and an Erlang hipster at the same time (I'm only a lowly Ruby hipster.)
jordigh 13y ago
> Octave: Matlab is closed-source (and expensive) We're GNU. We don't care so much about the closed/open distinction as we care about the free/non-free distinction. The goal is that you should be able to run and share your code without anyone's permission. I'm also planning to make Octave expensive as well. :-) Hopefully I'll manage to get this Octave startup off the ground.
- jdleesmiller 13y ago
  Thanks for clarifying. And, just to be clear, I'm a big fan of Octave! I used it extensively in my last project, and it worked great.
  - jordigh 13y ago
    In case you hadn't heard this rant before, I happen to agree with it ;-) https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point....
pseudotrue 13y ago
S-plus: stats needs a real but dedicated language R: S-plus isn't free or enough like lisp

seanmcdirmid 13y ago

LaTeX: It's taking too long to typeset my books in TeX. Markdown: XML sucks for writing things by hand R: because Perl isn't dangerous enough

herokusaki 13y ago

Surely you mean NumPy, not SciPy.

jdleesmiller 13y ago
Yes, that's a good point. I guess for SciPy you'd have to add "and plot the results"?

rbonvall 13y ago

Actually for TeX it is “modern math typesetting is ugly”: In the late 1970s, Donald Knuth was revising the second volume of his multivolume magnum opus The Art of Computer Programming, got the galleys, looked at them, and said (approximately) "blecch"! He had just received his first samples from the new typesetting system of the publisher's, and its quality was so far below that of the first edition of Volume 2 that he couldn't stand it. http://www.tug.org/whatis.html http://www.tug.org/whatis.html

midas007 13y ago

R: Another Octave TOML: Because INI files, JSON and YAML parsers are either too hard to read or write sane parsers for (It's not a language, but hey data formats are people too.) Elixir: Because I want to be a Ruby hipster and an Erlang hipster at the same time (I'm only a lowly Ruby hipster.)

jordigh 13y ago

> Octave: Matlab is closed-source (and expensive) We're GNU. We don't care so much about the closed/open distinction as we care about the free/non-free distinction. The goal is that you should be able to run and share your code without anyone's permission. I'm also planning to make Octave expensive as well. :-) Hopefully I'll manage to get this Octave startup off the ground.

jdleesmiller 13y ago
Thanks for clarifying. And, just to be clear, I'm a big fan of Octave! I used it extensively in my last project, and it worked great.
- jordigh 13y ago
  In case you hadn't heard this rant before, I happen to agree with it ;-) https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point....

pseudotrue 13y ago

S-plus: stats needs a real but dedicated language R: S-plus isn't free or enough like lisp