Free software brings affordability, transparency to mathematics. SAGE: Open Source Mathematics Software - "Building the Car Instead of Reinventing the Wheel"
| December 11, 2007 |  View for printing |
Until recently, a student solving a calculus problem, a physicist modeling a galaxy or a mathematician studying a complex equation had to use powerful computer programs that cost hundreds or thousands of dollars. But an open-source tool based at the University of Washington won first prize in the scientific software division of Les Trophées du Libre, an international competition for free software.
The tool, called Sage http://www.sagemath.org/ , faced initial skepticism from the mathematics and education communities.
"I've had a surprisingly large number of people tell me that something like Sage couldn't be done -- that it just wasn't possible," said William Stein, associate professor of mathematics and lead developer of the tool. "I'm hearing that less now."
Hannah Hickey hickeyh@u.washington.edu
Full Story: http://uwnews.washington.edu/ni/arti ... cleID=38459
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