Python library for symbolic mathematics | Hacker News Reader

Python library for symbolic mathematics

code.google.com

90 pointsgmodena10 comments

This is awesome; let me direct HN'ers to Sage (http://www.sagemath.org), which uses SymPy, and which is also very cool. It is (mostly?) written in Python, is available as a library, and it always welcomes contributors.

EDIT: I believed that Sage and SymPy duplicated a lot of the same functionality, but as two commenters pointed out (and as I verified for myself), Sage relies on SymPy and other libraries for its engine whenever it can. I stand corrected!

Sage and SymPy are not direct competitors. Sage is a Python interface to other math software. SymPy is closer to one of Sage's dependencies, Maxima. On the "motivation" page you linked, they actually state that they're working toward making SymPy a drop-in replacement for Maxima in Sage.

Sage is a large collection of different mathematical python packages. For symbolic math it uses sympy, which is linked by the OP. From your comment, I thought that Sage was a replacement for sympy.

> For symbolic math it uses sympy

My last information (could be a bit dated) is that Sage is using Maxima, has this been changed lately in favor of SymPy?

I think both packages are included, but sympy somewhat the preferred for new versions.

I just started using SymPy for some undergrad math research. Handy!

I do not want to troll, I'm just surprised and confused, why is this on HN frontpage?

Sympy is arguably the most popular symbolic calculus library in any language. If anyone thinks of symbolic calculus, sympy is the first thing coming to mind.

How is this news? I was excited when I saw the title, I thought I would find a new alternative.

I didn't know about it, so I was glad to see it. Now, I'm not familiar with CAS's at all, but I'm sure I'm not the only one.

> Sympy is arguably the most popular symbolic calculus library in any language.

I thought Maxima was still the most widely known and most capable open source CAS and scipy still in early development? Do you have any evidence to back up your claim?

This is of course not news, more like a random guy stumbling upon a random library and just linking it, i.e. spam.

I said 'arguably'. I didn't claim to say the absolute truth. So I have no evidence, just my personal perspective.

If you want some evidence, google around, you'll notice that sympy is pretty much what everyone is using.

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