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GNU Octave VS Thonny

Compare GNU Octave VS Thonny and see what are their differences

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GNU Octave logo GNU Octave

GNU Octave is a programming language for scientific computing.

Thonny logo Thonny

Python IDE for beginners
  • GNU Octave Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-08-07
  • Thonny Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-15

GNU Octave features and specs

  • Free and Open Source
    GNU Octave is completely free to use and distribute. Its source code is available for anyone to inspect, modify, and enhance, providing transparency and community-driven improvements.
  • MATLAB Compatibility
    Octave aims to be mostly compatible with MATLAB, meaning that many scripts and functions written for MATLAB can run in Octave with little or no modification.
  • Extensive Documentation
    Octave has comprehensive documentation, tutorials, and a vast array of user-contributed content, easing the learning curve for new users.
  • Flexible Integration
    Octave can interface with various programming languages such as C, C++, Fortran, and Python, making it versatile for different types of projects and workflows.
  • Powerful Plotting Capabilities
    Octave includes features for generating high-quality plots and visualizations, which are essential for data analysis and presentation.

Possible disadvantages of GNU Octave

  • Performance
    In some cases, Octave may be slower than MATLAB, especially for highly optimized or proprietary algorithms that MATLAB handles more efficiently.
  • GUI and Toolboxes
    While Octave offers a graphical user interface, it is not as polished as MATLAB's. Additionally, the range and quality of toolboxes available in Octave can be more limited compared to MATLAB's extensive and well-supported toolboxes.
  • Community Support
    Although there is a supportive community around Octave, the user base and available support resources are smaller compared to MATLAB's extensive network of forums, user groups, and customer support.
  • Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    While basic operations are straightforward, mastering advanced features and customizations in Octave can require a deeper understanding of its architecture and available functions.
  • Less Industry Adoption
    MATLAB is widely used in industry for research, engineering, and analytics. Octave, being an open-source alternative, lacks the same level of commercial adoption and institutional support, which can be a drawback in professional settings.

Thonny features and specs

  • Beginner-Friendly Interface
    Thonny is designed with simplicity in mind, which makes it ideal for beginners. The interface is clean and intuitive, helping new users to focus on learning Python without being overwhelmed by unnecessary features.
  • Integrated Python Debugger
    Thonny comes with a built-in debugger that allows users to step through their code line by line. This feature helps in understanding the flow of the program and is especially useful for debugging and learning.
  • Simple Variable Inspector
    The variable inspector in Thonny provides a clear and straightforward view of variables and their values, helping users to better understand how data changes as the program runs.
  • Preinstalled with Python
    Thonny comes with Python preinstalled, which makes the setup process easier for beginners. Users don’t have to worry about separate Python installation and can start coding right away.
  • Support for MicroPython
    Thonny supports MicroPython, making it a suitable choice for programming microcontrollers and embedded systems. This expands its usability beyond just desktop applications.
  • Educational Focus
    Thonny includes features specifically designed for educational purposes, such as highlighting syntax errors and visualizing code execution, which helps students grasp programming concepts more effectively.

Possible disadvantages of Thonny

  • Limited Advanced Features
    While Thonny is great for beginners, it lacks some advanced features found in other IDEs like PyCharm or Visual Studio Code. This may hinder users as they advance and need more complex workflows and customizations.
  • Performance Issues with Large Projects
    Thonny may not perform efficiently with large-scale projects or extremely large files, potentially causing lag or crashes, which could be a limitation for more extensive development work.
  • Plugin Ecosystem
    Thonny's plugin ecosystem is not as robust as some other IDEs. Users might find fewer extensions and customizations available, which can limit its functionality for certain workflows.
  • Limited Language Support
    Thonny is designed primarily for Python and lacks support for other programming languages. This makes it less flexible for developers who work with multiple languages.
  • Basic Editor Features
    Essential features such as intelligent code completion, refactoring tools, and version control integration are present but not as sophisticated as in more professional IDEs, which could limit productivity for seasoned developers.
  • Less Frequent Updates
    Compared to more popular and commercially-backed IDEs, Thonny receives less frequent updates. This could mean slower adoption of new Python features and slower fixes for bugs.

GNU Octave videos

+ Add

GNU Octave Ep. 1.5: What's different compared to MatLab!

Thonny videos

+ Add

Thonny - a Python IDE for beginners

More videos:

  • Review - Step Through Python Scripts With Thonny
  • Review - Introducing Thonny

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GNU Octave and Thonny)

GNU Octave

Thonny

Technical Computing
100 100%
Technical Computing
0% 0
Text Editors
0 0%
Text Editors
100% 100
Numerical Computation
100 100%
Numerical Computation
0% 0
IDE
0 0%
IDE
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare GNU Octave and Thonny

GNU Octave Reviews

7 Best MATLAB alternatives for Linux
FreeMAT is a free and open-source software for numerical computation. It is used for rapid engineering, scientific prototyping, and data processing. It is similar to MATLAB and GNU Octave and supports its various functions.
Source: cyanogenmods.org
Matlab Alternatives
Scilab is an open-source similar to the implementation of Matlab. The approximation techniques known as Scientific Computing is used to solve numerical problems. To achieve this, the team of Scilab developers made use of Solvers and algorithms to build the algebraic libraries. Scilab is one of the major alternatives to Matlab along with GNU Octave.
Source: www.educba.com
10 Best MATLAB Alternatives [For Beginners and Professionals]
GNU Octave an open-source alternative to MATLAB. It is interactive and powerful featuring everything you need in one place.
Source: thetechtop10.com
4 open source alternatives to MATLAB
GNU Octave may be the best-known alternative to MATLAB. In active development for almost three decades, Octave runs on Linux, Windows, and Mac—and is packaged for most major distributions. If you're looking for a project that is as close to the actual MATLAB language as possible, Octave may be a good fit for you; it strives for exact compatibility, so many of your projects...
Source: opensource.com
3 Open Source Alternatives to MATLAB
GNU Octave may be the best-known alternatives to MATLAB. In active development for almost three decades, Octave runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux alike, and is packaged for most major distributions. If you're looking for a project that is as close to the actual MATLAB language as possible, Octave may be a good fit for you; it strives for exact compatibility, so many of your...
Source: www.openhealthnews.com

Thonny Reviews

  1. steve
    · retired ·
    I like Thonny

    I started an on-line python course that used Pycharm as its basis. I had previously used Thonny to look at code for various programs. I found Pycharm to be over-featured for a beginner like me. Thonny seems much more on my level so I am continuing the course using it instead. And successfully I might add.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Thonny seems to be a lot more popular than GNU Octave. While we know about 111 links to Thonny, we've tracked only 1 mention of GNU Octave. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

GNU Octave mentions (1)

  • everyday I get more certain that Algerian universities sucks...
    As for Matlab, I think you'll be just fine with using GNU Octave. Source: about 3 years ago

Thonny mentions (111)

  • Essential Software for Hardware Hackers: Your First IDE & Tools
    Raspberry Pi Pico (MicroPython): The Thonny IDE is highly recommended and often pre-installed in Raspberry Pi OS. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Antirez/load81: SDL based Lua programming environment for kids similar to Codea
    The nice thing about Python is that because it's so pervasive as a teaching language, there are many tools for it that specifically cater to this niche. In particular, https://thonny.org is very nice for explaining basic programming concepts like expression evaluation and function calls. And yeah, turtle graphics is the time-honored method of teaching things like loops, recursion, and parametrization via functions... - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • Python: From Beginners to Pro in 30 Mins (Part 1)
    Thonny or IDLE are great starting points for beginners due to their simplicity. As you become more comfortable, VS Code or PyCharm Community Edition offers more features to help you develop your skills. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • FeedMyFurBabies – Send and Receive MQTT messages between AWS IoT Core and your micro-controller
    Install Thonny and run it. Then go to Tools -> Options, to configure the ESP32C3 device in Thonny to match the settings shown in the screenshot below. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Raspberry Pico Badger: Hardware Features and OS
    The recommended way to programm MicroPython on the Raspberry Pico is to use the Thonny IDE. Accessing the Badger with reveals the following file structure:. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing GNU Octave and Thonny, you can also consider the following products

MATLAB - A high-level language and interactive environment for numerical computation, visualization, and programming

PyCharm - Python & Django IDE with intelligent code completion, on-the-fly error checking, quick-fixes, and much more...

Wolfram Mathematica - Mathematica has characterized the cutting edge in specialized processing—and gave the chief calculation environment to a large number of pioneers, instructors, understudies, and others around the globe.

IDLE - Default IDE which come installed with the Python programming language.

Scilab - Scilab Official Website. Enter your search in the box aboveAbout ScilabScilab is free and open source software for numerical . Thanks for downloading Scilab!

VS Code - Build and debug modern web and cloud applications, by Microsoft

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