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<h2 class="chapter">1 What is Octave?</h2>
<p>Octave is a high-level interactive language, primarily intended for
numerical computations that is mostly compatible with
<span class="sc">Matlab</span>.<a rel="footnote" href="#fn-1" name="fnd-1"><sup>1</sup></a>
<p>Octave can do arithmetic for real, complex or integer-valued scalars
and matrices, solve sets of nonlinear algebraic equations, integrate
functions over finite and infinite intervals, and integrate systems of
ordinary differential and differential-algebraic equations.
<p>Octave uses the GNU readline library to handle reading and editing
input. By default, the line editing commands are similar to the
cursor movement commands used by GNU Emacs, and a vi-style line
editing interface is also available. At the end of each session, the
command history is saved, so that commands entered during previous
sessions are not lost.
<p>The Octave distribution includes a 650+ page Texinfo manual. Access to
the complete text of the manual is available via the <code>doc</code> command
at the Octave prompt.
<ul class="menu">
<li><a accesskey="1" href="Who-develops-Octave_003f.html#Who-develops-Octave_003f">Who develops Octave?</a>
<li><a accesskey="2" href="Why-GNU-Octave_003f.html#Why-GNU-Octave_003f">Why GNU Octave?</a>
<li><a accesskey="3" href="What-version-should-I-use_003f.html#What-version-should-I-use_003f">What version should I use?</a>
<li><a accesskey="4" href="On-what-platforms-does-Octave-run_003f.html#On-what-platforms-does-Octave-run_003f">On what platforms does Octave run?</a>
</ul>
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<h4>Footnotes</h4><p class="footnote"><small>[<a name="fn-1" href="#fnd-1">1</a>]</small> <span class="sc">Matlab</span> is a registered trademark of The
MathWorks, Inc.</p>
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