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Mathomatic VS Mathics

Compare Mathomatic VS Mathics and see what are their differences

Mathomatic logo Mathomatic

Mathomatic is a free general purpose computer algebra system that is an expert in solving and simplifying the algebraic and computation issues.

Mathics logo Mathics

Mathics is a general purpose computer algebra system that is designed to deliver a powerful functional programming language to its users.
  • Mathomatic Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-17
  • Mathics Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-18

Mathomatic features and specs

  • Lightweight and portable
    Mathomatic is a small, portable computer algebra system (CAS) written in C that can run on a wide variety of platforms including Unix, Linux, Windows, and even embedded systems, requiring very minimal system resources.
  • Free and open source
    Mathomatic is released under the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL), making it freely available for anyone to use, study, modify, and distribute without any cost.
  • Simple and easy to use
    Mathomatic features a straightforward command-line interface with intuitive commands, making it accessible to users who need quick symbolic math computations without a steep learning curve common in more complex CAS tools.
  • Fast performance
    Due to its small codebase and efficient C implementation, Mathomatic performs symbolic algebra operations quickly, even on older or resource-constrained hardware.
  • Good for basic algebra tasks
    Mathomatic handles core algebraic operations well, including simplification, solving equations, polynomial arithmetic, calculus (differentiation and integration), and symbolic manipulation of mathematical expressions.

Possible disadvantages of Mathomatic

  • Limited advanced functionality
    Compared to major CAS tools like Mathematica, Maple, or even free alternatives like Maxima and SageMath, Mathomatic lacks many advanced mathematical capabilities such as advanced calculus, linear algebra, and specialized mathematical functions.
  • No longer actively maintained
    Mathomatic's development has been largely inactive since the passing of its primary developer, George Gesslein II, in 2018, meaning bugs are unlikely to be fixed and new features will not be added.
  • No graphical interface
    Mathomatic operates solely through a text-based command-line interface and does not offer a graphical user interface (GUI) or plotting capabilities, which limits its appeal for users who prefer visual interaction.
  • Small community and limited documentation
    Mathomatic has a relatively small user community compared to mainstream CAS software, which means limited community support, fewer tutorials, and less comprehensive documentation for troubleshooting.
  • Limited library and ecosystem integration
    Mathomatic lacks robust APIs and integration options with other programming languages, scientific libraries, or notebook environments, making it difficult to incorporate into larger scientific computing workflows.

Mathics features and specs

No features have been listed yet.

Analysis of Mathomatic

Overall verdict

  • Mathomatic is a free, open-source computer algebra system that is lightweight and useful for basic to intermediate symbolic math, though it is not as powerful or actively developed as major CAS tools like Mathematica, Maple, or SymPy.

Why this product is good

  • It is free and open-source, making it accessible to anyone
  • Lightweight and simple to install, requiring minimal system resources
  • Capable of symbolic algebra including simplification, solving equations, and calculus operations
  • Portable and can run on various platforms including embedded systems
  • Simple command-line interface that is easy to learn for basic tasks
  • No licensing costs compared to commercial alternatives

Recommended for

  • Students learning algebra and basic symbolic computation
  • Hobbyists who want a lightweight CAS without installing large software
  • Users on resource-constrained or older systems needing simple symbolic math tools
  • Educators demonstrating basic algebraic concepts
  • Programmers who want to embed simple symbolic computation in other projects
  • Those who prefer open-source tools over commercial CAS software

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Mathomatic and Mathics)
Technical Computing
29 29%
71% 71
Numerical Computation
38 38%
62% 62
Math Solver
38 38%
62% 62
Math Tools
41 41%
59% 59

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Mathics seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 10 times since March 2021. 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.

Mathomatic mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Mathomatic yet. Tracking of Mathomatic recommendations started around Mar 2021.

Mathics mentions (10)

  • Wolfram Compute Services
    There is of course a FOSS rewrite https://mathics.org. - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
  • Learn You Galois Fields for Great Good (00)
    If you know Mathematica syntax, you could also try Mathics: https://mathics.org. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • A Mathematica interpreter in Typescript
    I applaud calling the language Mathematica, despite Stephen Mathematica's attempts to rename it a couple of years ago. See also: https://mathics.org/ It's a more mature and complete reimplementation of Mathematica, though still miles behind the original. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Harmonic Function Theory
    Mathis is an open source clone of Mathematica. https://mathics.org/ Naturally, Wolfram hired the creator and the project nearly died. A couple of heroes stepped in to create a second generation, but it's just too hard to continually compete with a multi-billion dollar company. No idea how OEIS is involved. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
  • The Story Continues: Announcing Version 14 of Wolfram Language and Mathematica
    There's Mathics, a subset of the language implemented in Python, but unfortunately after the main author of that was hired by Wolfram, the project seems to have basically died. Still fun for what it is. https://mathics.org/. - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Mathomatic and Mathics, you can also consider the following products

COMSOL Multiphysics - COMSOL is the developer of COMSOL Multiphysics software, an interactive environment for modeling and simulating scientific and engineering problems.

Sage Math - Sage is a free open-source mathematics software system licensed under the GPL.

Mathcad - Mathcad is engineering calculation software that drives innovation and offers significant process...

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

Magma - A software package designed to solve computationally hard problems in algebra, number theory, geometry and combinatorics.

Maxima - Maxima is a fairly complete computer algebra system written in Lisp with an emphasis on symbolic computation.