Useful Links
Sage is…
- A general purpose symbolic computer algebra system (CAS) like Mathematica, Maple, Magma, etc.
- Designed to be accessible and useful right away for people with some math background.
- Accessed through your browser.
- Powerful, as we shall see…
Why Sage? We have Mathematica…
- Cost.
- Transparency. Math is based on peer review, how can you publish a paper wherein the results are based on closed algorithms?
Why not Maxima, GAP, Octave, etc?
Each of these programs does a few things well, but none provides a complete environment for mathematicians. In order to use these tools successfully, you have to constantly translate results between several distinct systems.
Sage automates this, acting as a virtual expert user of each system, translating results back and forth as needed and making smart decisions about which algorithm to use for a given operation.