Scilab(free math system yet programmable... (horizontal and vertical dial programs) SciLab tested well under Windows XP SP2 and SP1. Must restart after installing SciLab. Compare SciLab with Octave and Euler. ___________________________________________________________________
The Scilab math system is very powerful in displaying the results of mathematical functions. It is also programmable, but like many other such systems, the documentation is great once you know it all, but sadly lacking in the real world of human input, practical programming, and usable output. Scilab is available from:- www.scilab.org ___________________________________________________________________
If you already have Scilab installed, try this interactive h-dial now, it has graphics. ___________________________________________________________________
Dial programs in Scilab code ~ ~ ~ Download this file which has the notes on how to download Scilab, how to load the dial programs, and some pointers. The dial programs work, simple, and show the issues involved when using Scilab to program. CAUTION: read the notes in this zip file, and the notes displayed when the program ends. The graphical display area aspect ratio is easy to get wrong, and needs the "SQUARE" command, which this hdial and vdial programs do use. The programs also display tabular data. Also, the graphical depiction has a 45 degree line so you can verify the graphical dial's aspect ratio layout. Almanac, and horizontal, vertical, and vertical decliner dials.
PBE model of programming ~ ~ ~ (programming by example).
This section continues the "PBE" philosophy, namely "Programming By Example". Having started programming in 1966, and having written code for BAL, PL/I, RPG, COBOL, ALGOL, APL, FORTRAN, C, BASIC, C++, LISP, and for operating systems from mainframe DOS, MFT, MVT, VS1, MVS, GCP (under VM), UNIX, and various PC operating systems, I have become jaded enough to wade right in and see what works, rather than read several hundred pages of text that mix the language with the object oriented concepts with the development system.
The major problems with current computer languages are:-
1. Manuals and HELP systems are designed for those who already know the system 2. They seldom if ever provide simple programs stipped to bare bones that take input, do something, display graphical output 3. They often have complex build processes, or, very large libraries. Scilab does not, which is in its favor.
So, these web pages are intended to show practical solutions using systems other than the common ones, and to provide a basis for you to develop further. These examples, give you that leg up
download Programming Shadows, it is free, and has many hints to get you up to speed on many languages