What is Mathics?
Mathics is an open-source computer algebra system designed to be compatible with Mathematica. It provides capabilities for symbolic and numerical calculations, 2D and 3D graphics, mathematical typesetting, and interactive use.
Some of the key features of Mathics include:
- Symbolic calculations - simplify expressions, compute derivatives, integrals, limits, solve equations, etc.
- Numeric computations - support for arbitrary precision numbers and vectors/matrices.
- Charting and graphics - 2D line/bar/scatter plots and basic 3D plotting.
- Typesetting - generate properly formatted and rendered mathematical equations and formulas.
- Programming language - write scripts and programs to automate workflows.
- Compatibility with the Mathematica language to reuse existing code, resources, and skills.
- Free and open-source software licensed under the GPL.
The compatibility with Mathematica gives Mathics a huge advantage, allowing users to leverage decades of accumulated Mathematica resources and code. At the same time, it provides an open-source alternative usable for free.
Mathics is a capable computer algebra system for scientists, engineers, students, and developers who wish to have access to technical computing capabilites without expensive proprietary software.