FreeLists / si-list / [SI-LIST] Re: preferred math package? (summary)

["Zabinski, Patrick J." <zabinski.patrick@xxxxxxxx>]

All the responses have been off-line, so I thought I'd
post a summary of the results by paraphrasing the
general consensus.

MathCAD (http://www.mathcad.com/)

Great starter tool because of ease of use, graphical
interface, etc.  Good for presentations, documentation,
and derivations but bogs down with large matrices and arrays.

Matlab (http://www.mathworks.com/

A bit more difficult to use, but it handles large
data sets much better.  Also, provides programmatic
tools for prompting user, creating loops, etc.  Comes
at higher cost.

Mathematica (http://www.wolfram.com/

Folks have used it in the past (e.g., college), but nobody
seems to use it anymore (no particular reason).  Much higher cost.

SciLab (http://www.scilab.org/)

Freebie tool that works similarly to Matlab.

Thanks y'all for the input,
Pat

----- 
  Mayo Clinic                 Ph: 507-538-5499
  200 First St SW             Fx: 507-284-9171
  Rochester, MN 55905         Em: zabinski.patrick@xxxxxxxx




> For basic SI analysis and tool development, does anyone
> have a preference for mathematical packages?  e.g.,
> MatLab, MathCad, Mathematica, ...???
> 
> I'd be interested in perspectives of ease of use, integration
> with other tools, ability to customize, ...
> 
> Thanks,
> Pat Zabinski               
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