[Blindmath] Computational software

Fri Mar 11 07:25:08 UTC 2016

Dear All,

I agree with Jonathan's comments below.  I make frequent use of Mathematica,
and did the same with Maple in the past.  Python has also extensions for
dealing with symbolic math, and is therefore also a very accessible option.

Best,
t

-----Original Message-----
From: Blindmath [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Godfrey,
Jonathan via Blindmath
Sent: 11 March 2016 03:00 AM
To: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics
Cc: Godfrey, Jonathan
Subject: Re: [Blindmath] Computational software

Hello all,

I told John in an offline discussion that various tools that range in their
accessibility can be used in batch mode. I have used each of the following
command lines in experiments. Each sits in a  batch file that I click on in
Windows explorer. In each case, I must know what files I want to have the
software read the commands from and written to; sometimes the output files
being written are specified inside the input file and not on the command
line. Obviously, I must know the correct syntax for the software to get any
programs working using the following command lines, and I have to admit that
my tests have been very basic proofs of concept.

For Mathematica:
"C:\Program Files\Wolfram Research\Mathematica\10.0\math.exe" -script
InputTest.txt

For Maxima:
"C:\Program Files\Maxima-5.25.0\bin\maxima.bat" -q --userdir="." < "in.txt"
> out.txt N.B. I'm sure there is a newer version of Maxima.

For Octave:
"C:\Program Files\Octave\bin\octave-3.0.0.exe" -q < test.m > results.txt
N.B. Neil has just pointed us to a much newer version of Octave. I'm
downloading now...

For Matlab:
c:\progra~1\matlab\R2010b\bin\matlab.exe -r BATCHTest20140516.m -logfile
Log2.txt N.B. I do not have this software on my own computer anymore. 

For R:
"C:\Program Files\R\R-3.2.3\bin\i386\r.exe" CMD BATCH --vanilla --quiet
Input.R N.B. The output file is the same as the input filename but the
extension changes to Rout.

It seems none of my colleagues is using Maple so our licence has died, and
while I might include command lines for other statistical software (SAS
etc.), I would never suggest most Stats software  be used for doing
mathematical work. (Obvious exception is R of course)

All of the above software can handle numeric computation, but symbolic maths
work isn't possible with all of these options. Octave and Matlab use
practically the same code, but all of the others have their own syntax,
which of course is not always thought of as an accessibility issue, although
I would say having accessible documentation is a necessary criterion to
impose on all software. Only Maxima has its own front end to generate code
that could be put into an input file, and thankfully that GUI is pretty
accessible. From my perspective, finding out what code is needed to do a job
is the task of a student's lecturers, tutors etc. Getting people into a
position to test that code is one of the things this list does well.

Cheers,
Jonathan

-----Original Message-----
From: Blindmath [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of John
Gardner via Blindmath
Sent: Friday, 11 March 2016 11:18 a.m.
To: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics
Cc: John Gardner
Subject: [Blindmath] Computational software

Hello listers, may I request your expertise on computational math
applications. I am told that MatLab is reasonably accessible in command line
mode. Can you recommend other numerical computation software that is
powerful, accessible, and less expensive than MatLab? Secondly I would
appreciate recommendations for symbolic solution applications such as Maple
and Mathematica. I have used both of these and found Maple in particular to
be quite accessible in command line mode. But I have not done such work in
many years and fear that their accessibility is not as good now.

I am asking because Summer University presenters want to have workshops on
both types of math application, but none of us is a real expert on these
apps. FYI Summer University is a workshop associated with the ICCHP
conference held in July in Linz, Austria. It is intended to teach blind
students and professionals working with blind students about modern
techniques for accessing STEM. If you can afford a trip to Austria, anyone
in either of these categories is welcome to apply. Information on Summer
University  is linked from the ICCP web site http://icchp.org

Thanks for any help you can throw my way.

John Gardner

John Gardner
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