Scilab

Scilab
Screenshot of Scilab
Basic data
developer	Scilab Enterprises
Current  version	6.1.0 (February 25, 2020)
operating system	Linux , Unix , macOS , BSD , Windows
programming language	C ++ , C , Java , Fortran
category	numerical Mathematics
License	GPL v2.0
German speaking	Yes
www.scilab.org

Scilab is a comprehensive, powerful and free software package for applications from numerical mathematics , which was developed at the Institut national de recherche en informatique et en automatique (INRIA) in France since 1990 as an alternative to MATLAB and has been further developed by the Scilab consortium since 2003 . In July 2008 the Scilab consortium joined the Digiteo Foundation; Since July 2012 Scilab Enterprises has published and developed it. In 2017 Scilab Enterprises was acquired by the ESI Group .

Xcos is the alternative to Simulink , which is also a free software package and was originally developed by INRIA.

The functionality and syntax of Scilab / Xcos is largely identical to that of MATLAB / Simulink, and there are converters from MATLAB to Scilab. Scilab will u. a. used for technical and scientific applications in teaching, research and industry. Scilab provides a. a. Functions for the following areas: 2D and 3D plots of all common forms based on JOGL , numerical linear algebra , polynomial calculations, statistics , control engineering , digital signal processing , as well as I / O functions for reading and writing data, under also as sound files in WAVE file format . In addition, there is a large number of ready-made Scilab / Xcos solution scripts and function libraries from users all over the world.

Scilab / Xcos is implemented in C , but it can also be expanded with modules that were written in Scilab / Xcos itself or in other languages, e.g. B. Fortran , Python with SciPy or C, for which defined interfaces exist. It provides defined interfaces to already available or freely programmable toolkits (toolboxes) such as SPI, LabVIEW , Modelica , but also MuPAD . With the release of version 5.0, many graphical functions and the user interface were reprogrammed in Java .

Demarcation

Due to the almost non- existent algebraic functionalities, Scilab does not belong to the computer algebra system (CAS) such as Maxima , Maple or Mathematica , which (in contrast to purely numerical mathematics) also support symbolic processes .

Additional packages

Powerful additional tools are available with Scilab, including:

• SciNotes , a text editor and debugger specially developed for Scilab , which simplifies the editing of Scilab scripts . Among other things, he supports:
  • Highlighting the Scilab syntax
  • Automatic identification of functions
  • Autocomplete
  • Direct execution of scripts in Scilab
  • Register navigation
  • Comment function for lines and paragraphs
  • Line numbering
  • Help function
• Xcos (formerly Scicos), a program package similar to Simulink , for graphic modeling and simulation of dynamic systems . Xcos 1.0 is based on Scicos 4.2 and is fully compatible with it. Xcos contains a collection of graphic icons . These can be wired together like an electronic circuit . A distinction is made between time information (red lines) and the actual signals (blue lines). Programs or block diagrams created in this way can also be converted into a C program. With a corresponding C compiler , the programs can then be transferred to any target platform, for example also to a microcontroller . The current Scicos version 4.4 (December 2009) is available in the ScicosLab development environment, which is also free and based on Scilab 4.1.2 . There is a free compiler for Modelica models available, which allows Modelica models to be used and edited directly in Scilab / Xcos
• ATOMS ( AutomaTic modules Management for Scilab ) enables the automatic installation and updating of further additional program packages .

syntax

The Scilab syntax is largely based on the MATLAB programming language . The easiest way to execute Scilab instructions is to type them in at the prompt >> in the graphical input window. In this way Scilab can be used as an interactive math shell .

Application examples

• Arithmetic calculations: numerical values ​​can be stored in variables . Special constants are %ifor the imaginary unit with and for the circle number . In addition, all known elementary functions are still available. ${\displaystyle \mathrm {i} }$ ${\displaystyle \mathrm {i} ^{2}=-1}$%pi ${\displaystyle \pi }$

Complex AC calculations are performed in the example .

 -->f=100;R=1000; C=1e-6;
 -->ZR=R;ZC=1/(2*%pi*f*C*%i); // Komplexer    Wechselstromwiderstand
 -->Z=ZR+ZC                         // Reihenschaltung R und C
 Z  =
    1000. - 1591.5494i
 -->Scheinwiderstand=abs(Z)         // Scheinwiderstand
 Scheinwiderstand  =
    1879.6355
 -->Phase=atan(imag(Z)/real(Z))*360/(2*%pi)  // Phase in Grad
 Phase  =
  - 57.858092
 -->

• Matrices : Scilab provides corresponding functions for all matrix operations. In the example the matrix A is declared, its inverse isinv(A) calculated with the function and assigned to the variable B. The multiplication of both matrices results in the identity matrix .

 -->A=[0 1;2 4]
 A  =
 !   0.    1. !
 !   2.    4. !
 -->B=inv(A)   // Inverse
 B  =
 ! - 2.     .5 !
 !   1.    0.  !
 -->A*B
 ans  =
 !   1.    0. !
 !   0.    1. !
 -->

See also

• GNU Octave

literature

• Stephen Campbell, Jean-Philippe Chancelier, Ramine Nikoukhah: Modeling and Simulation in Scilab / Scicos . 1st edition. Springer Verlag, Berlin 2005, ISBN 0-387-27802-8 (English). The 2nd edition of December 22, 2009 also takes into account the integration of Modelica models, ISBN 978-1-4419-5526-5
• Claude Gomez, Carey Bunks, Jean-Philippe Chancelier, François Delebecque: Engineering and Scientific Computing with Scilab, with Scilab / Scicos software package and all examples on CD-ROM , 1st edition. Birkhäuser Verlag , 1999, ISBN 3-7643-4009-6 (English)
• Wolfgang Polifke, Jan Kopitz: Heat transfer. Basics, analytical and numerical methods, with the Scilab / Scicos software package and all examples on CD-ROM . Pearson Studium Verlag, 1st edition. 2005, ISBN 3-8273-7104-X (German)
• Jean-Marie Zogg: Working with Scilab and Scicos (Scilab for numerical calculations, Scicos for graphic simulations) . HTW-Verlag, 2007, 125 pages, (German), free download
• Peter Beater: Control engineering and simulation technology with Scilab and Modelica: An example-oriented introduction for students and users . Books on Demand, 1st edition, January 7, 2010, German, ISBN 978-3-8370-5010-3

Web links

Commons : Scilab  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Scilab website
• Scicos website
• ScicosLab website
• Openeering website, Scilab and Xcos tutorials
• Image processing toolkit for Scilab (Scilabs additional package "SIP" for image data processing )
• Working with Scilab and Scicos . ( PDF ) University of Technology and Economics (HTW) Chur; extensive introduction
• Introduction to Scilab (PDF), University of Vienna
• Collection of examples and further information on Scilab University Vienna
• German-speaking Scilab and Xcos forum

Individual evidence

1. ↑ https://www.scilab.org/download/6.1.0
2. ↑ The scilab Open Source Project on Open Hub: Languages Page . In: Open Hub . (accessed October 18, 2018).
3. ↑ scilab.org history
4. ↑ ESI-Group: Acquisition of Scilab Enterprises, publisher of Scilab open source analytical computational software. Retrieved September 1, 2018 . 
5. ↑ scilab.org Information SciRenderer
6. ↑ scilab.org Information on Xcos
7. ↑ help.scilab.org MBLOCK: Modelica generic block integration
8. ↑ scilab.org  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. A free Modelica compiler which enables the simulation of implicit diagrams