Gnuplot is a command-line scriptable and versatile graphing utility for different platforms. Despite its name, it is not part of the GNU operating system. Although it is not freely licensed, it’s free-ware (meaning it’s copyrighted but free to use).
To install `gnuplot` on an Ubuntu (or derivative) system, type
sudo apt-get install gnuplot gnuplot-x11
into a terminal window. To start the program, type
gnuplot
You will be presented with a simple command line interface
but the true power of `gnuplot` lies within its command line and scripting capabilities. The extensive full documentation of `gnuplot` can be found [here][7] with a great tutorial for the previous version [on the Duke University’s website][8].
### Maxima ###
[Maxima][9] is a computer algebra system developed from the original sources of Macsyma. According to its SourceForge page,
> “Maxima is a system for the manipulation of symbolic and numerical expressions, including differentiation, integration, Taylor series, Laplace transforms, ordinary differential equations, systems of linear equations, polynomials, sets, lists, vectors, matrices and tensors. Maxima yields high precision numerical results by using exact fractions, arbitrary-precision integers and variable-precision floating-point numbers. Maxima can plot functions and data in two and three dimensions.”
You will have binary packages for Maxima in most Ubuntu derivatives as well as the Maxima graphical interface. To install them all, type
sudo apt-get install maxima xmaxima wxmaxima
into a terminal window. Maxima is a command line utility with not much of a UI, but if you start `wxmaxima`, you’ll get into a simple, yet powerful GUI.
(It needs the `gnuplot-x11` package to display them.)
Besides beautifying the expressions, Maxima makes it possible to export them in latex format, or do some operations on the highlighted functions with a right-click context menu,
while its main menus offer an overwhelming amount of functionality. Of course, Maxima is capable of much more than this. It has an extensive documentation [available online][10].
### Conclusion ###
Mathematics is not an easy subject, and the excellent math software on Linux does not make it look easier, yet these applications make using Mathematics much more straightforward and productive. The above two applications are just an introduction to what Linux has to offer. If you are seriously engaged in math and need even more functionality with great documentation, you should check out the [Mathbuntu project][11].
