Editing Octave for macOS

GNU Octave is primarily developed on GNU/Linux and other POSIX conformant systems. 
GNU Octave for Mac OS X is readily available using [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Package_management_system package managers] such as [http://www.finkproject.org/ Fink], [http://www.macports.org/ MacPorts], and [http://mxcl.github.com/homebrew/ Homebrew].

About version numbers (as of January 2014):

*The 3.8.x are current releases.
*The 3.6.x are previous releases.
*The 3.4.x are very old releases.

==Binary installer for OSX 10.9.1==

{{warning|The binary installer for Mac OSX is still experimental.}}

A [http://sourceforge.net/projects/octave/files/Octave%20MacOSX%20Binary/2013-12-30%20binary%20installer%20of%20Octave%203.8.0%20for%20OSX%2010.9.1%20%28beta%29/ binary installer] for Mavericks can be found on Octave Forge.

This installer will install all binaries for GNU Octave 3.8.0 itself and its dependencies under 

  /usr/local/octave/3.8.0 

And will create two entries in the Applications folder 

 /Applications/Octave-cli.app 
 /Applications/Octave-gui.app 

Which will start Octave in CLI and GUI mode respectively, these are just small wrappers containing a startup script and an icon to allow launching Octave from the Finder. 

If you wish to uninstall GNU Octave 3.8.0 and all other software installed by this installer you can simply move the three folders listed above to the Trash. Notice that you will need to authenticate with an administrator password to be allowed to do so.

You may need to override Gatekeeper to allow installation. You may find instructions about how to do this on [http://support.apple.com/kb/ht5290 this page] in the section labeled "How to open an app from a unidentified developer and exempt it from Gatekeeper". 

In short: 

* In Finder, Control-click or right click the icon of the app. 
* Select Open from the top of contextual menu that appears. 
* Click Open in the dialog box. If prompted, enter an administrator name and password. 

This installer is known to work on OSX 10.9.1, you may try, at your own risk, to use it for installing on other system versions but it is not guaranteed to work.

==Manual Installation from Source==

The page [[Octave for Mac]] provides minimalistic instructions for building Octave from source on Mac OS X. Additional [http://www.gnu.org/software/octave/support.html support] for those who need assistance in building Octave is available.

==Package Managers==

A package manager is a software tool to automate the process of installing, upgrading, configuring, and removing software packages for a computer's operating system in a consistent manner. It typically maintains a database of software dependencies and version information to prevent software mismatches and missing prerequisites.
Packages are distributions of software, applications and data. Packages also contain metadata, such as the software's name, description of its purpose, version number, vendor, checksums, and a list of dependencies necessary for the software to run properly. Upon installation, metadata is stored in a local package database.
Operating systems based on Linux and other Unix-like systems typically consist of hundreds or even thousands of distinct software packages; in the former case, a package management system is a convenience, in the latter case it becomes essential.

There are three reputable package managers available for Mac OS X. GNU Octave for Mac OS X is readily available using [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Package_management_system package managers] such as [http://www.finkproject.org/ Fink], [http://www.macports.org/ MacPorts], and [http://brew.sh/ Homebrew].

The most recent version of Fink's Octave package, MacPorts' Octave port, and Homebrew's Octave formula are generally not the same. Please check the web sites for these package managers to determine if the version of Octave you desire is available.

===XCode Dependency===

Each package manager requires that XCode be installed. In part this is to provide an initial set of development tools. It *may* be possible to substitute the [https://github.com/kennethreitz/osx-gcc-installer Mac OS X gcc Installer] by Kenneth Reitz, but this alternative has not yet been tested. If any curious/industrious users experiment with using Kenneth's solution over Apple's XCode, please let Octave's developers know of the results. Or, if you prefer, just update the itemized list below. It is recommended that users with XCode already installed avoid installing Kenneth's solution, as it may break your existing XCode installation.
* Fink: The Mac OS X gcc Installer has not been tested.
* MacPorts: The Mac OS X gcc Installer has not been tested.
* Homebrew: The Mac OS X gcc Installer has not been tested.

===Fink===

[http://www.finkproject.org/ The Fink project] is an effort to port and package open-source Unix programs to Mac OS X. Fink uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dpkg dpkg] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Packaging_Tool APT] ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debian Debian's] package management system), as well as its own frontend program, fink (which is implemented as a set of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perl_module Perl modules]).

====Simple Installation Instructions====

*Install XCode via the Mac App Store.
** Once installed, install the Command Line Tools from XCode's Apple Menu > Preferences > Downloads.
*Follow [http://www.finkproject.org/download/srcdist.php Fink's installation instructions]. For those who prefer it, there is a GUI available for Fink, [http://finkcommander.sourceforge.net Fink Commander].
*Fink has excellent support for Octave and includes recent as well as dated versions. A list of what Fink has available for Octave is [http://pdb.finkproject.org/pdb/browse.php?summary=octave here]. To install the latest Octave, type {{Codeline|<nowiki>sudo fink install octave</nowiki>}} at the Terminal's command line.  For those running the 64 bit version of Fink, it is recommended that {{Codeline|octave-atlas}} be installed instead as there are some bugs/features with Apple's vecLib for the X86_64 architecture.  Octave has many dependencies which will be downloaded and installed prior to Octave. The entire installation process can take a few hours.
* Fink should also be used to install [[http://octave.sourceforge.net/packages.php packages] for Octave.  For example, the control systems package for Lion may be installed by typing {{Codeline|fink install control-atlas-oct362}} at a terminals command line.

For the {{Codeline|doc()}} function to be supported by Octave, either the unversioned {{Codeline|octave}}, {{Codeline|octave-atlas}}, or {{Codeline|octave-ref}} package must be installed. Essentially, those features used at run-time which don't have a version somewhere in the file path are included in these packages.

===MacPorts===

[http://www.macports.org/ MacPorts], formerly called DarwinPorts, is a package management system that simplifies the installation of software on the Mac OS X and Darwin operating systems. It is a free/open source software project to simplify installation of other free/open source software. Similar in aim and function to Fink and the BSDs' ports collections, DarwinPorts was started in 2002 as part of the OpenDarwin project, with the involvement of a number of Apple Inc. employees including Landon Fuller, Kevin Van Vechten, and Jordan Hubbard.

====Simple Installation Instructions====

*Install XCode via the Mac App Store.
*Follow [http://www.macports.org/install.php MacPorts' installation instructions].
*MacPorts has good support for Octave. A list of what MacPorts has available for Octave is [http://www.macports.org/ports.php?by=name&substr=octave here]. To install the most recent version of Octave, type {{Codeline|sudo port install octave +atlas+docs}} at the Terminal's command line. Octave has many dependencies which will be downloaded and installed prior to Octave. The entire installation process can take a few hours.
*Note that {{Codeline|octave-devel}} has been replaced by {{Codeline|octave}}, see [https://trac.macports.org/changeset/114034 MacPorts Revision 114034].
*The variant installed may be important to the user's experience.  The available variants for  {{Codeline|octave}} are displayed by typing {{Codeline|port variants octave-devel}}.  It is recommended that the user include {{Codeline|+atlas+docs}}.  This will avoid bugs present in Apple's vecLib and enable support for Octave's {{Codeline|doc()}} function.

===Homebrew===

Homebrew is a package management system that simplifies the installation of software on Mac OS X. It is a free/open source software project to simplify installation of other free/open source software. It is similar in aim and function to MacPorts and Fink. It was written by Max Howell and has gained popularity in the Ruby on Rails community and earned praise for its extensibility.

====Simple Installation Instructions====

First, install Homebrew:
*Install XCode via the Mac App Store.
** For Mac OS 10.9 (Mavericks) install the command line tools by {{Codeline|xcode-select --install}}.
** For earlier versions of Mac OS, install the command line tools from XCode's Apple Menu > Preferences > Downloads.
*Follow [https://github.com/mxcl/homebrew/wiki/installation Homebrew's installation instructions].
* If running Mountain Lion (Mac OS 10.8) or later, install [https://xquartz.macosforge.org/landing/ XQuartz].
* Import the scientific computing packages, including Octave:
<pre>brew tap homebrew/science</pre>

To install Octave, update to the latest package definitions, install {{Codeline|gfortran}}, and then Octave:
<pre>brew update && brew upgrade
brew install gcc
brew install octave --without-docs</pre>

Note: If brew complains about not having a formula for octave, the following command should fix it:
<pre>brew tap --repair</pre>

The command below upgrades Octave and its dependencies to the latest Homebrew-supported versions:
 brew update && brew upgrade

Octave has many dependencies which will be downloaded and installed prior to Octave. The entire installation process can take a few hours.
Note: On Snow Leopard, Octave requires a X server. If you install without, Homebrew will guide you to the XQuartz project (https://xquartz.macosforge.org) where you can download this.

You might find that you need to add:

<pre>setenv ("GNUTERM", "X11")</pre>

to your octaverc file, normally located at {{Codeline|/usr/local/share/octave/site/m/startup}}.

In case of trouble, see the [https://github.com/mxcl/homebrew/wiki/troubleshooting Homebrew Troubleshooting Guide], which assists in diagnosing problems and craft useful bug reports.  The [http://jatinganhotra.com/blog/2014/01/21/installing-octave-on-os-x-10-dot-9-mavericks/ post by Jatin Ganhotra] may also be helpful. Bugs may be reported at [https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew-science/issues?state=open Homebrew-science's issue tracker].

==Create a launcher app with AppleScript==

* Open the "AppleScript Editor" application
* write the following text in the editor window:

<code>

 tell application "Terminal"
  do script "/path/to/octave; exit"
 end tell

</code>

or if Octave is in your default path:

<code>
 tell application "Terminal"
  do script "`which octave`; exit"
 end tell
</code>

* Select "Save as ..." from the "File" menu
* In the menu that appears, select "Application" from the "File format" menu, then navigate to the "Applications" folder and save your script there as "Octave.app"

To change the application icon 

* Open [http://wiki.octave.org/File:Icon.png this link] in a web browser, right-click and select "copy image".
* Select "Octave.app" in the Finder, then press command-i to bring up the file info dialog.
* In the file info dialog, select the icon (in the top left) and press command-v to paste the Octave icon over it.

==Installing a Mac OS X Bundle==

A reliable App bundle for Octave on Mac OS X is not presently available. The developers would like to be able to provide an App bundle, but need volunteers to support the effort.  An approach for producing an App Bundle using [http://www.macports.org MacPorts] is being documented [[Create_a_MacOS_X_App_Bundle_Using_MacPorts|here]].  This approach shows promise, but a few problems must be resolved before a bundle will become available.

Octave and many other software packages may be installed and updated using one of the three package managers available for Mac OS X. To install using a package manager, see the section on [[Octave_for_MacOS_X#Package_Managers|Package Managers]].

{{Warning|Octave-Forge does have [https://sourceforge.net/projects/octave/files/Octave%20MacOSX%20Binary/ App bundles] for old Octave, versions and have problems running on Mac OS 10.6 and above.  The latest App bundle does not provide full support for the printing, or the documentation features of Octave. Other features may be missing as well. For individuals who'd like to use it anyway please carefully follow the instructions for [[Installing Mac OS X Bundle]].}}

[[Category:Installation]]
[[Category:Macintosh platform]]