# MATLAB alternative?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matlab-alternative/373311>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 19, 2006, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matlab-alternative/373311 "2006-09-19T18:58:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matlab-alternative/373311/1 "2006-09-19T18:58:12Z")

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When I took a control systems class a couple of years ago, there was discussion of a shareware/freeware equivalent to MATLAB, analogous to OpenOffice and MS Office. I’ve moved 3 times since that class, so I can’t find my notes to recall what it was called.

Anyone here who can help me out?

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**Author:** ![carterba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85e7bf/32.png) [@carterba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carterba)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matlab-alternative/373311/2 "2006-09-19T18:59:38Z")

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[octave](http://www.octave.org)

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**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matlab-alternative/373311/3 "2006-09-19T19:07:23Z")

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[QUOTE=carterba]  
[octave](http://www.octave.org)  
[/QUOTE]

Thanks. That was fast…

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**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matlab-alternative/373311/4 "2006-09-19T20:52:08Z")

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There’s also [Scilab](http://www.scilab.org/). Scilab is very much MATLAB-like in interface and functionality, but the code isn’t strictly compatible. (Neither, in my admittedly limited experience, is Octave, particularly plotting functions.) Scilab also seems to be somewhat more expandable. Try both and see what you like best.

Also there’s [Maxima](http://maxima.sourceforge.net/) which is a symbolic algebra solver analogous to _Mathematica_. I haven’t really had the chance to play with it extensively, but it looks pretty cool.

Stranger