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The list below summarizes features or bug fixes we would like to see in Octave. | The list below summarizes features or bug fixes we would like to see in Octave. This list is not exclusive -- there are many other things that might be good projects, but it might instead be something we already have. Also, some of the following items may not actually be considered good ideas now. | ||
{{Note|If you never contributed to Octave before, we suggest to start with our [[Developer FAQ]].}} | |||
Summer of Code students, please also see [[ | * Summer of Code students, please also see [[Summer of Code - Getting Started]]. | ||
* If you're looking for small project, see [[short projects]]. | |||
=Numerical= | |||
* Use C++11 <random> libraries for random number generation. Write link between Octave functions (rand, randi, randn, rande) and C++ API. Implement RandStream objects as Matlab does. | |||
*Improve logm, and sqrtm (see this thread: http://octave.1599824.n4.nabble.com/matrix-functions-td3137935.html) | *Improve logm, and sqrtm (see this thread: http://octave.1599824.n4.nabble.com/matrix-functions-td3137935.html) | ||
*Improve complex mapper functions. See W. Kahan, ``Branch Cuts for Complex Elementary Functions, or Much Ado About Nothing's Sign Bit (in The State of the Art in Numerical Analysis, eds. Iserles and Powell, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1987) for explicit trigonometric formulae. | *Use pairwise addition in sum() to mitigate against numerical errors without substantial performance penalty (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pairwise_summation). | ||
*Review implementing algorithm in this 2009 paper (https://epubs.siam.org/doi/pdf/10.1137/080738490) for xsum (sum with extra accuracy). The existing implementation uses a 2005 paper. | |||
*Improve complex mapper functions. See W. Kahan, ``Branch Cuts for Complex Elementary Functions, or Much Ado About Nothing's Sign Bit (in The State of the Art in Numerical Analysis, eds. Iserles and Powell, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1987) for explicit trigonometric formulae. See {{patch|8172}} for a previous attempt. | |||
*Make functions like gamma() return the right IEEE Inf or NaN values for extreme args or other undefined cases. | *Make functions like gamma() return the right IEEE Inf or NaN values for extreme args or other undefined cases. | ||
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*Evaluate harmonics and cross-correlations of unevenly sampled and nonstationary time series, as in http://www.jstatsoft.org/v11/i02 (which has C code with interface to R). (This is now partly implemented in the [http://octave.sourceforge.net/lssa/index.html lssa] package.) | *Evaluate harmonics and cross-correlations of unevenly sampled and nonstationary time series, as in http://www.jstatsoft.org/v11/i02 (which has C code with interface to R). (This is now partly implemented in the [http://octave.sourceforge.net/lssa/index.html lssa] package.) | ||
== General purpose Finite Element library == | <!-- == General purpose Finite Element library == | ||
Octave-Forge already has a set of packages for discretizing Partial Differential operators by Finite Elements and/or Finite Volumes, | Octave-Forge already has a set of packages for discretizing Partial Differential operators by Finite Elements and/or Finite Volumes, | ||
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* create new functions specifically suited for Octave | * create new functions specifically suited for Octave | ||
* improve the efficiency of the code | * improve the efficiency of the code | ||
The main goal for the fem-fenics package is ultimately to be merged with the FEnics project itself, so that it can remain in-sync with the main library development. | The main goal for the fem-fenics package is ultimately to be merged with the FEnics project itself, so that it can remain in-sync with the main library development. --> | ||
== Implement solver for initial-boundary value problems for parabolic-elliptic PDEs in 1D == | == Implement solver for initial-boundary value problems for parabolic-elliptic PDEs in 1D == | ||
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Details on the methods to be implemented can be found in [http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/502800.502801 this paper] on bvp4c and [http://www.jnaiam.net/new/uploads/files/014dde86eef73328e7ab674d1a32aa9c.pdf this paper] on bvp5c. Further details are available in [http://books.google.it/books/about/Nonlinear_two_point_boundary_value_probl.html?id=s_pQAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y this book]. | Details on the methods to be implemented can be found in [http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/502800.502801 this paper] on bvp4c and [http://www.jnaiam.net/new/uploads/files/014dde86eef73328e7ab674d1a32aa9c.pdf this paper] on bvp5c. Further details are available in [http://books.google.it/books/about/Nonlinear_two_point_boundary_value_probl.html?id=s_pQAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y this book]. | ||
== Geometric integrators for Hamiltonian Systems == | <!-- == Geometric integrators for Hamiltonian Systems == | ||
[http://openlibrary.org/books/OL9056139M/Geometric_Numerical_Integration Geometric (AKA Symplectic) integrators] are useful for | [http://openlibrary.org/books/OL9056139M/Geometric_Numerical_Integration Geometric (AKA Symplectic) integrators] are useful for | ||
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* SHAKE, see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constraint_algorithm here] or [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0021-9991(77)90098-5 here] | * SHAKE, see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constraint_algorithm here] or [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0021-9991(77)90098-5 here] | ||
* RATTLE, see [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0021-9991(83)90014-1 here] or [http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jcc.540161003 here] | * RATTLE, see [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0021-9991(83)90014-1 here] or [http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jcc.540161003 here] | ||
--> | |||
== Matlab-compatible ODE solvers in core-Octave == | == Matlab-compatible ODE solvers in core-Octave == | ||
* | * Improve handling of sparse Jacobians in IDE/DAE solvers | ||
* | ** Currently, in the IDA wrapper function __ode15__ an over conservative guess for the amount of memory to be allocated when assembling a sparse jacobian is used, essentially allocating enough space for a full jacobian then freeing the excess memory, an initial patch for fixing this has been posted on the tracker, for integrating this into Octave it must be generalized to support prior versions of SUNDIALS | ||
** Currently Jacobians passed by the user in Octave's sparse matrix format are copied into SUNDIALS own sparse matrix format. Newer versions of SUNDIALS (5.x or higher) support letting the user take care of the linear algebra data structures and methods thus removing the need for the copy. Taking advantage of this feature would improve the solver performance both in terms of memory footprint and speed. | |||
** References | |||
***[https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?func=detailitem&item_id=55905 tracker post about memory allocation] | |||
***[https://computing.llnl.gov/projects/sundials/release-history SUNDIALS release history] | |||
* Implement Matlab compatible versions of "deval". | * Implement Matlab compatible versions of "deval". | ||
* Complete transition of ode23s into core Octave | |||
** [https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?57309 Bug tracker entry discussing ode23s] | |||
== High Precision Arithmetic Computation == | == High Precision Arithmetic Computation == | ||
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=GUI/IDE= | =GUI/IDE= | ||
*Søren Hauberg has suggested that we need C++ code that can: | *Søren Hauberg has suggested that we need C++ code that can: | ||
**Determine if a line of code could be fully parsed, i.e. it would return true for "plot (x, y);", but false for "while (true)". | **Determine if a line of code could be fully parsed, i.e. it would return true for "plot (x, y);", but false for "while (true)". | ||
**Evaluate a line of code and return the output as a string (it would be best if it could provide three strings: output, warnings and errors). | **Evaluate a line of code and return the output as a string (it would be best if it could provide three strings: output, warnings and errors). | ||
**Query defined variables, i.e. get a list of currently defined variables. Bonus points if it could tell you if anything had changed since the last time you checked the variables (could also be done with signals). | **Query defined variables, i.e. get a list of currently defined variables. Bonus points if it could tell you if anything had changed since the last time you checked the variables (could also be done with signals). | ||
* | * Create a better (G)UI for the {{manual|profile|profiler}}. This may be done with Qt, but not necessarily. | ||
== GUI Variable Editor and Property Inspector == | |||
Octave has a preliminary implementation of a Variable Editor: a spreadsheet-like tool for quickly editing and visualizing variables. The initial phase of the project will be learning how the implementation was done. | |||
With the knowledge gained, the second part of the project will be to implement a Property Inspector. This is a spreadsheet like interface to the many, many graphics properties that exist and are different on a per-object basis. The goal would be not only the concise-display of the existing properties, but a reasonable user interface to change them. As examples, Boolean properties should be able to be toggled with a double-click; Radio properties should have a drop-down list of only the supported options; Other properties that can be modified should have the constraints built-in (for example, Linewidth must be a scalar, while Position must be a 1x4 vector). It would also be important to have easy access to the documentation of a property. | |||
For reference, Matlab has a similar Property Inspector (https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/ref/inspect.html). | |||
== Sisotool. Create a graphical design tool for tuning closed loop control system ( | == Sisotool. Create a graphical design tool for tuning closed loop control system ([[Control package]])== | ||
When tuning a SISO feedback system it is very helpful to be able to grab a pole or a zero and move them by dragging them with the mouse. As they are moving the software must update all the plotted lines. There should be the ability to display various graphs rlocuse, bode, step, impulse etc. and have them all change dynamically as the mouse is moving. The parameters of the compensator must be displayed and updated. | When tuning a SISO feedback system it is very helpful to be able to grab a pole or a zero and move them by dragging them with the mouse. As they are moving the software must update all the plotted lines. There should be the ability to display various graphs rlocuse, bode, step, impulse etc. and have them all change dynamically as the mouse is moving. The parameters of the compensator must be displayed and updated. | ||
Recently, some implementation was done during [[Summer_of_Code#GSoC_2018|GSoC 2018]], see https://eriveltongualter.github.io/GSoC2018/final.html for details. | |||
=Sparse Matrices= | =Sparse Matrices= | ||
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The paper by [http://arxiv.org/abs/cs.MS/0604006 Bateman & Adler] is good reading for understanding the sparse matrix implementation. | The paper by [http://arxiv.org/abs/cs.MS/0604006 Bateman & Adler] is good reading for understanding the sparse matrix implementation. | ||
*Improve | *Improve Matlab compatibility for {{manual|sprandsym}}. | ||
*Sparse logical indexing in idx_vector class so that something like <code>a = sprandn (1e6, 1e6, 1e-6); a(a<1) = 0;</code> won't cause a memory overflow. | |||
*Sparse logical indexing in idx_vector class so that something like | |||
*Other missing Functions | *Other missing Functions | ||
**lsqr | **lsqr | ||
**minres | **minres | ||
**symmlq | **symmlq | ||
== SPQR Interface == | |||
Octave implements QR factorization for sparse matrices, but it does so with an older "CXSPARSE" library. This has caused fundamental issues, including segfaults as recorded here (bugs {{bug|51950}} and {{bug|57033}}). The goal of this project is to program an interface to the API for the SQPR library (http://faculty.cse.tamu.edu/davis/suitesparse.html). This is the same library that Matlab uses for this purpose. | |||
*Improve QR factorization functions, using idea based on CSPARSE cs_dmsol.m | |||
*Improve QR factorization by replacing CXSPARSE code with SPQR code, and make the linear solve return 2-norm solutions for ill-conditioned matrices based on this new code | |||
=Strings= | =Strings= | ||
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if (expr) 'this is a string' end | if (expr) 'this is a string' end | ||
is parsed as IF expr STRING END. ''(see [https:// | is parsed as IF expr STRING END. ''(see [https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/octave-maintainers/2014-03/msg00087.html this] post on the mailing list)'' | ||
*Clean up functions in input.cc that handle user input (there currently seems to be some unnecessary duplication of code and it seems overly complex). | *Clean up functions in input.cc that handle user input (there currently seems to be some unnecessary duplication of code and it seems overly complex). | ||
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*Use nanosleep instead of usleep if it is available? Apparently nanosleep is to be preferred over usleep on Solaris systems. | *Use nanosleep instead of usleep if it is available? Apparently nanosleep is to be preferred over usleep on Solaris systems. | ||
== Improve JIT compiling == | == Improve JIT compiling == | ||
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* Implement one-to-many (Broadcast, Scatter), many-to-one (Reduce, Gather), and many-to-many (All Reduce, Allgather) communication routines | * Implement one-to-many (Broadcast, Scatter), many-to-one (Reduce, Gather), and many-to-many (All Reduce, Allgather) communication routines | ||
=Graphics= | = Graphics = | ||
* | * Correctly handle case where DISPLAY is unset. Provide --no-window-system or --nodisplay (?) option. Provide --display=DISPLAY option? How will this work with gnuplot (i.e., how do we know whether gnuplot requires an X display to display graphics)? | ||
* Implement a Cairo-based renderer for 2D-only graphics, with support for PS/PDF/SVG output (for printing). | * Implement a Cairo-based renderer for 2D-only graphics, with support for PS/PDF/SVG output (for printing). | ||
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* On 'imagesc' plots, report the matrix values also based on the mouse position, updating on mouse moving. | * On 'imagesc' plots, report the matrix values also based on the mouse position, updating on mouse moving. | ||
* Add map-creating capabilities similar to the Matlab [https://www.mathworks.com/help/map/functionlist.html Mapping toolbox] for inclusion in the Octave Forge [https://sourceforge.net/p/octave/mapping mapping package]. | |||
* Add map-creating capabilities similar to the Matlab [ | |||
* Add data cursor to trace data values in figure. | * Add data cursor to trace data values in figure. | ||
== Non-OpenGL renderer == | == Non-OpenGL renderer == | ||
Besides the original gnuplot backend, Octave also contains an OpenGL-based renderer for advanced and more powerful 3D plots. However, OpenGL is not perfectly suited for 2D-only plots where other methods could result in better graphics. The purpose of this project is to implement an alternate graphics renderer for 2D only plots (although 3D is definitely not the focus, extending the new graphics renderer to support basic 3D features should also be taken into account). There is no particular toolkit/library that must be used, but natural candidates are: | Besides the original gnuplot backend, Octave also contains an OpenGL-based renderer for advanced and more powerful 3D plots. However, OpenGL is not perfectly suited for 2D-only plots where other methods could result in better graphics. The purpose of this project is to implement an alternate graphics renderer for 2D only plots (although 3D is definitely not the focus, extending the new graphics renderer to support basic 3D features should also be taken into account). There is no particular toolkit/library that must be used, but natural candidates are: | ||
* [http://qt.nokia.com Qt]: the GUI is currently written in Qt | * [http://qt.nokia.com Qt]: the GUI is currently written in Qt | ||
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairo_%28software%29 Cairo]: this library is widely used and known to provides high-quality graphics with support for PS/PDF/SVG output. | * [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairo_%28software%29 Cairo]: this library is widely used and known to provides high-quality graphics with support for PS/PDF/SVG output. | ||
== | == LaTeX markup == | ||
Text objects in plots (like titles, labels, texts...) in the OpenGL renderer only support plain text and TeX. The latter consists of a very limited subset of the TeX language. On the other hand, the LaTeX formatting support is expected to provide full LaTeX capabilities. There are various approaches that can be used: | |||
* Use an external LaTeX engine: this is the most straightforward, but it requires users to install a LaTeX distribution and setup Octave to use it. | |||
* Use an external library that supports LaTeX syntax, e.g. [https://github.com/opencollab/jlatexmath JLaTeXMath] a Java API to display LaTeX code, [https://github.com/nathancarter/qtmathjax qtmathjax] a Qt based library that executes MathJax in a background web page. | |||
* Implement our own LaTeX parser and renderer. The matplotlib project [http://matplotlib.sourceforge.net/users/usetex.html has already done this in Python] and might be used as an example of how to do this in Octave. There is also [https://github.com/jkriege2/JKQtPlotter JKQtPlotter], a Qt based plotting application which implements its own LaTeX parser/renderer in C++. | |||
=History= | =History= | ||
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*Fix history problems — core dump if multiple processes are writing to the same history file? | *Fix history problems — core dump if multiple processes are writing to the same history file? | ||
=Configuration and Installation= | = Configuration and Installation = | ||
* | * Makefile changes: | ||
** eliminate for loops | |||
** define shell commands or eliminate them | |||
** consolidate targets | |||
* | * Create a docs-only distribution? | ||
=Documentation= | |||
:''See [[Project - Documentation]].'' | |||
=Tests= | =Tests= | ||
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**Tests for various functions. Would be nice to have a test file corresponding to every function (see below) | **Tests for various functions. Would be nice to have a test file corresponding to every function (see below) | ||
**Tests for element by element operators: + - .* ./ .\ .^ | & < <= == >= > != ! | **Tests for element by element operators: + - .* ./ .\ .^ | & < <= == >= > != ! | ||
*** thorough tests for power operator including corner cases and strange combinations such as complex .^ range. | |||
**Tests for boolean operators: && || | **Tests for boolean operators: && || | ||
**Tests for other operators: * / \ ' .' | **Tests for other operators: * / \ ' .' | ||
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=Programming= | =Programming= | ||
*Better error messages for missing operators? | *Better error messages for missing operators? | ||
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*Use non-empty identifiers in all warnings and errors issued by Octave, see [[Easy projects#Miscellaneous]]. | *Use non-empty identifiers in all warnings and errors issued by Octave, see [[Easy projects#Miscellaneous]]. | ||
*Reduce the amount of datatypes in liboctave | *Reduce the amount of datatypes in liboctave. | ||
*Re-implement operators using templates and modern C++. Current system evolved before templates and makes extensive use of macros to define interactions between scalar<->scalar, scalar<->matrix, scalar<->float, etc., etc. | |||
**In liboctave, the directory to work on is liboctave/operators | |||
**In libinterp, the directory to work on is libinterp/operators | |||
**In libinterp, there is also xpow.cc, xdiv.cc in libinterp/corefcn | |||
=Miscellaneous= | =Miscellaneous= | ||
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=Marketing and Community= | =Marketing and Community= | ||
*Make the website | * Make the Octave website/[[Project Infrastructure]] easier to maintain. | ||
* Make it easier for newcomers to contribute. | |||
* For marketing ideas, see the [https://openoffice.apache.org/orientation/intro-marketing.html Apache Open Office Introduction to Marketing] | |||
* Help design a user or a [https://www.openoffice.org/marketing/ooocon2006/presentations/wednesday_c10.pdf developer survey] | |||
* Help prepare and deliver presentations and [[Publications about Octave]] at colleges and universities. | |||
* | |||
== Improve Windows binary packaging == | == Improve Windows binary packaging == | ||
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'''Skills Required''': Knowledge of GNU build systems, Makefiles, configure files, chasing library dependencies, how to use a compiler. No m-scripting or C++ necessary, beyond understanding [http://david.rothlis.net/c/compilation_model/ the C++ compilation model]. | '''Skills Required''': Knowledge of GNU build systems, Makefiles, configure files, chasing library dependencies, how to use a compiler. No m-scripting or C++ necessary, beyond understanding [http://david.rothlis.net/c/compilation_model/ the C++ compilation model]. | ||
== Improve | == Improve macOS binary packaging == | ||
We would like to be able to easily generate binary packages for macOS. Right now, it's difficult and tedious to do so. Most OS X users install Octave using one of the source-based package managers such as Homebrew or MacPorts. Any way to help us build a binary package would be appreciated. Required knowledge is understanding how building binaries in macOS works. Our current approach to building binaries for Windows is to cross-compile from a GNU system using [http://mxe.cc/ MXE], something similar may be possible for OS X ([http://lilypond.org/gub/ GUB]?). | |||
There is a third-party project called [http://octave-app.org "Octave.app"] that creates and distributes macOS builds of Octave as a Mac app bundle. It is built on top of Homebrew and a set of custom Octave-related Homebrew formuale. | |||
'''Skills Required''': Knowledge of GNU build systems, Makefiles, configure files, chasing library dependencies, how to use a compiler. If you choose to work on GUB, Python will be required. No m-scripting or C++ necessary, beyond understanding [http://david.rothlis.net/c/compilation_model/ the C++ compilation model]. | '''Skills Required''': Knowledge of GNU build systems, Makefiles, configure files, chasing library dependencies, how to use a compiler. If you choose to work on GUB, Python will be required. No m-scripting or C++ necessary, beyond understanding [http://david.rothlis.net/c/compilation_model/ the C++ compilation model]. | ||
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=Performance= | =Performance= | ||
*A profiler for Octave would be a very useful tool. And now we have one! But it really needs a better interface. | * A profiler for Octave would be a very useful tool. And now we have one! But it really needs a better interface. | ||
*Having {{Codeline|parfor}} functioning would speed code development and execution now that multicore architectures are widespread. See [http://octave.1599824.n4.nabble.com/Parfor-td4630575.html here] and [http://stackoverflow.com/questions/24970519/how-to-use-parallel-for-loop-in-octave-or-scilab here]. Existing code from the [[Parallel package | parallel]] and [http://octave.sourceforge.net/mpi/index.html mpi] packages could perhaps be adapted for this. | * Having {{Codeline|parfor}} functioning would speed code development and execution now that multicore architectures are widespread. See [http://octave.1599824.n4.nabble.com/Parfor-td4630575.html here] and [http://stackoverflow.com/questions/24970519/how-to-use-parallel-for-loop-in-octave-or-scilab here]. Existing code from the [[Parallel package | parallel]] and [http://octave.sourceforge.net/mpi/index.html mpi] packages could perhaps be adapted for this. | ||
* Develop a performance benchmark for Octave (interpreter, load/save, plotting, etc., but not simply tests of underlying libraries such as BLAS or LAPACK). This benchmark could be run periodically to make sure that changes during development do not introduce regressions in performance. | |||
=Packaging= | =Packaging= | ||
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=Bugs= | =Bugs= | ||
There are always bugs to fix. The [ | There are always bugs to fix. The [https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?group=octave bug tracker] is a good place to find tasks needing a hand. See also [[Short projects#Bugs]]. | ||
= Matlab compatibility = | = Matlab compatibility = | ||
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One list is provided on the source for function __unimplemented.m__, subfunction missing_functions; it can be edited in the Octave GUI or browsed at [http://hg.savannah.gnu.org/hgweb/octave/file/default/scripts/help/__unimplemented__.m#l547]. | One list is provided on the source for function __unimplemented.m__, subfunction missing_functions; it can be edited in the Octave GUI or browsed at [http://hg.savannah.gnu.org/hgweb/octave/file/default/scripts/help/__unimplemented__.m#l547]. | ||
Lists are also kept for | Lists are also kept for [[:Category:Missing functions|several packages]]. | ||
It is also possible to look at existing [[Wikipedia:Free and open-source software|FOSS]] implementations, from FreeMat and Scilab (for more closely compatible languages) to R or Scipy or Julia (for less compatible versions). Obviously, it is NOT OK to look at the Matlab implementation since this is not [[Wikipedia:Free software|free software]]! | It is also possible to look at existing [[Wikipedia:Free and open-source software|FOSS]] implementations, from FreeMat and Scilab (for more closely compatible languages) to R or Scipy or Julia (for less compatible versions). Obviously, it is NOT OK to look at the Matlab implementation since this is not [[Wikipedia:Free software|free software]]! |