Octave for Android: Difference between revisions

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== Termux ==
== Termux ==


[https://termux.com Termux] is a Terminal Emulator for Android. You can install it from [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.termux Play store] or [https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdid=com.termux F-Droid].
[https://termux.com Termux] is a Terminal Emulator for Android. You can install it from [https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdid=com.termux F-Droid] (preferred) or [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.termux Play store] (deprecated). You don't need a rooted device to use Octave with Termux.


=== Direct Octave installation ===
=== Direct Octave installation ===
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<syntaxhighlight lang="shell">
<syntaxhighlight lang="shell">
pkg install wget
wget https://its-pointless.github.io/setup-pointless-repo.sh
wget https://its-pointless.github.io/setup-pointless-repo.sh
sh setup-pointless-repo.sh
sh setup-pointless-repo.sh
apt install octave
pkg install octave
</syntaxhighlight>
</syntaxhighlight>


However, graphics capabilities are not available with this approach.
[https://www.openblas.net/ OpenBLAS] is installed as a dependency, and this method provides much better performance compared to Octave installed inside a GNU/Linux distro running in Termux. By default, Octave only plots with ASCII characters in the terminal.  


=== Via some Linux distribution ===
For graphical plots, [https://wiki.termux.com/wiki/Graphical_Environment#Desktop_environment_.28XFCE.29 install] a graphical environment like xfce, and use octave with a vnc server. Only the graphics toolkit "gnuplot" is known to work in this method.


Inside Termux in Android, you can install a Linux distribution like Debian, Ubuntu, Arch or Alpine (this consumes less disk space). Octave can be installed as descried in [[Octave for GNU/Linux]] from the distribution's respective package manager.
[[File:Octave in Termux.png|thumb|GNU Octave running directly in Termux]]


To use Octave's graphical capabilities, the installation of a desktop environment and the usage of a VNC Server is required.  (Please add more information how to do this here.On many android devices, only the graphics toolkit "gnuplot" is known to work.  Several apps (e.g. [https://github.com/EXALAB/AnLinux-App Anlinux], [https://andronix.app/ Andronix]) are available to easily install the Linux distribution of your choice, and setting up the desktop environment.
 
=== Via some GNU/Linux distribution ===
 
Inside Termux in Android, you can install a GNU/Linux distribution like Debian, Ubuntu, Arch or Alpine. Note that Alpine consumes relatively less disk space.  Octave can be installed as described in [[Octave for GNU/Linux]] from the distribution's respective package manager.
 
To use Octave's graphical capabilities, one needs to install a desktop environment, and a VNC server in the GNU/Linux distro, and one also needs to install a separate VNC viewer app in the Android phone (can be installed from Play Store/F-Droid). On many android devices, only the graphics toolkit "gnuplot" is known to work.  Several apps (e.g. [https://github.com/EXALAB/AnLinux-App Anlinux], [https://andronix.app/ Andronix]) are available to easily install the Linux distribution of your choice, and setting up the desktop environment. Refer to the [https://docs.andronix.app/vnc/vnc-basics Andronix docs] for an overview of setting up the VNC server.
 
'''Optimizing performance''': Installing [https://github.com/xianyi/OpenBLAS/wiki/Precompiled-installation-packages/ OpenBLAS] (with the distribution's package manager) to replace the system's BLAS libraries may tremendously increase the performance of Octave.


== GNURoot Octave ==
== GNURoot Octave ==
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* https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/octave-maintainers/2013-10/msg00406.html
* https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/octave-maintainers/2013-10/msg00406.html
== Octave for Linux on Dex (Specific to certain Samsung Android devices) ==
[https://www.linuxondex.com/ Linux on Dex (LoD)] is an application (beta testing status) that runs on some Samsung Android devices.
To build Octave on LoD, do the following. This assumes you have LoD working. If not, follow the instructions on the LoD website.
# Many of the packages that Octave needs are not in the default Ubuntu installation. You will need to install them using <code>sudo apt install <package></code>. First, you need the compilers gcc, and gfortran. There are other packages that are essential to download: "libblas", "liblapack", "libatlas" and their development counterparts with the "-dev" extension.
# Remove all "libopenblas" packages with <code>sudo apt remove libopenblas*</code>. The OpenBLAS library from the default Ubuntu distribution does not work with Octave. You have to remove it. For details see bug {{bug|56900}}.
# Unpack the Octave source code and enter the directory. Create a build directory <code>mkdir my_build</code>, enter that directory and issue <code>../configure</code>. This will start the configure script. Look at the output at the end of the configure process to see what packages are not found by the script. Many of these will be things you want/need in terms of functionality. You can search for the packages available using the command "apt search", and install the ones you want using <code>sudo apt install <package></code> before compiling. If you want to install Octave in "my_build" be sure to issue <code>../configure --prefix=`pwd`</code> from this directory.
# In the {{Path|my_build}} directory issue <code>make</code> and <code>make install</code>.
Now you should have a working installation in, e.g., {{Path|/home/dextop/path_to/octave-5.1.0/my_build/}}.
Graphics:
# If you set the graphics toolbox to "gnuplot", Octave should generate plots correctly. If it does not, set the environment variable GNUTERM to x11. The default shell in LoD is bash, and you can either issue <code>export GNUTERM=x11</code> in the bash terminal or in your octave session issuing "setenv GNUTERM x11". You can also add <code>setenv GNUTERM x11</code> to your {{Path|.octaverc}} file to do this automatically.
# If you want to use Qt graphics it will take some work, and may or may not be possible. It has not been tested by anyone. You will need to download the package [https://github.com/termux/libandroid-shmem libandroid-shmem], get it working, and then recompile Octave linking to this library. There are more detailed instructions regarding the compilation on the github website.


[[Category:Installation]]
[[Category:Installation]]

Revision as of 13:41, 23 August 2021

Termux

Termux is a Terminal Emulator for Android. You can install it from F-Droid (preferred) or Play store (deprecated). You don't need a rooted device to use Octave with Termux.

Direct Octave installation

You can directly install Octave in Termux using the repository by its-pointless.

pkg install wget
wget https://its-pointless.github.io/setup-pointless-repo.sh
sh setup-pointless-repo.sh
pkg install octave

OpenBLAS is installed as a dependency, and this method provides much better performance compared to Octave installed inside a GNU/Linux distro running in Termux. By default, Octave only plots with ASCII characters in the terminal.

For graphical plots, install a graphical environment like xfce, and use octave with a vnc server. Only the graphics toolkit "gnuplot" is known to work in this method.

GNU Octave running directly in Termux


Via some GNU/Linux distribution

Inside Termux in Android, you can install a GNU/Linux distribution like Debian, Ubuntu, Arch or Alpine. Note that Alpine consumes relatively less disk space. Octave can be installed as described in Octave for GNU/Linux from the distribution's respective package manager.

To use Octave's graphical capabilities, one needs to install a desktop environment, and a VNC server in the GNU/Linux distro, and one also needs to install a separate VNC viewer app in the Android phone (can be installed from Play Store/F-Droid). On many android devices, only the graphics toolkit "gnuplot" is known to work. Several apps (e.g. Anlinux, Andronix) are available to easily install the Linux distribution of your choice, and setting up the desktop environment. Refer to the Andronix docs for an overview of setting up the VNC server.

Optimizing performance: Installing OpenBLAS (with the distribution's package manager) to replace the system's BLAS libraries may tremendously increase the performance of Octave.

GNURoot Octave

The Android app GNURoot Octave in the Google play store is built and maintained by Corbin Champion. However, note that these repositories have not been updated for several years. It is not part of the GNU Octave project. Thus please use the following GitHub pages for questions and bug reports:

The implementation has been done in close cooperation with the Octave developers and makes use of the Octave source code without essential changes. Thus, it is fully compatible with the versions of Octave on other platforms.

Some probably outdated build instructions for the older "octave4android" app: