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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]]. | |||
If you're looking for small project | |||
=Numerical= | =Numerical= | ||
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== Matlab-compatible ODE solvers in core-Octave == | == Matlab-compatible ODE solvers in core-Octave == | ||
* Improve handling of sparse Jacobians in IDE/DAE solvers | * 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, 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 | ||
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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 [ | * 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 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 | 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++. | |||
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=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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* Help prepare and deliver presentations and [[Publications about Octave]] at colleges and universities. | * 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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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]?). | 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]. |