Maxima is a FREE computer algebra system comparable to commercial systems like Mathematica and Maple. It emphasizes symbolic mathematical computation: algebra, trigonometry, calculus, and more. The program supports calculations with exact integers, fractions, native floating-point numbers, and high-precision big floats for accurate mathematical computing.
As a powerful system for handling symbolic and numerical expressions, Maxima offers an extensive range of features. It handles advanced calculus with tools for differentiation, integration, Taylor series, Laplace transforms, and ordinary differential equations. Furthermore, it provides robust support for solving systems of linear equations and handling various data structures, including polynomials, sets, lists, vectors, matrices, and tensors.
Get precise results you can trust with Maxima, which yields high-precision numerical results by using exact fractions, arbitrary-precision integers, and variable-precision floating-point numbers. To help you visualize your data, Maxima can also plot functions and data in two and three dimensions.
The software provides a comprehensive and user-friendly experience through intuitive interfaces, an online manual, plotting commands, and numerical libraries. Thanks to a dedicated community, users can also write programs in their native programming language, and many have contributed useful packages in a wide variety of areas over the decades.
You can download the executables for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Source code is also available. An active community maintains and extends the system.
Maxima Features:
- It specializes in symbolic operations while also providing numerical capabilities.
- It can be accessed programmatically and extended, as the underlying Lisp can be called from it.
- A complete programming language with ALGOL-like syntax but Lisp-like semantics.
- Arbitrary-precision integers.
- The program supports rational numbers of virtually unlimited size, limited only by available system memory.
- Arbitrarily large floating-point numbers (“bfloats”).
Maxima is a direct descendant of Macsyma, the legendary computer algebra system developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the late 1960s. Thanks to its open-source nature, it remains the only system from that foundational effort that is publicly available and supported by an active user community.
Maxima – Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| ✓ Performs advanced symbolic mathematics, including algebra, calculus, differential equations, Laplace transforms, and Taylor series. | ✗ The interface is designed for technical users and may require a learning curve for beginners. |
| ✓ Supports exact arithmetic with arbitrary-precision integers, fractions, and high-precision floating-point calculations for reliable mathematical results. | ✗ Primarily focuses on mathematical computation and does not include general scientific data analysis or spreadsheet features. |
| ✓ Includes built-in 2D and 3D plotting capabilities to visualize mathematical functions and data. | ✗ Many advanced functions rely on command-line input or scripting, which may be challenging for casual users. |
| ✓ Cross-platform and open source, with versions available for Windows, macOS, Linux, BSD, Unix, and Android. | ✗ Complex symbolic calculations can require significant system memory and processing time for large mathematical problems. |
| ✓ Offers an extensible programming environment with Lisp integration, allowing users to automate tasks and develop custom mathematical workflows. | ✗ Although well documented, mastering its programming and symbolic computation capabilities takes time for users without prior CAS experience. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Maxima solve systems of equations?
Yes. Maxima can solve many algebraic equations, systems of linear equations, and certain nonlinear equations either symbolically or numerically, depending on the problem. It also supports matrix operations commonly used in engineering and scientific computing.
What is the difference between Maxima and Mathematica?
Both are powerful computer algebra systems capable of symbolic and numerical computation. Maxima is free and open source under the GNU GPL, while Mathematica is commercial software with a broader ecosystem, advanced visualization tools, and extensive built-in functionality.
Can Maxima be used for engineering and scientific research?
Yes. It is widely used for mathematics, engineering, physics, and educational applications that require symbolic computation, numerical analysis, and mathematical modeling. Its scripting capabilities also make it suitable for automating repetitive calculations.
Does Maxima have a graphical user interface?
Yes. Although it can be used from the command line, it also supports graphical interfaces such as wxMaxima, which provides an interactive worksheet environment for entering formulas, viewing results, creating plots, and managing calculations more easily.
Official Homepage – https://maxima.sourceforge.io
Maxima (/ˈmæksɪmə/) is a cross-platform computer algebra system (CAS) written in Common Lisp that supports macOS, Unix, BSD, Linux, Microsoft Windows, and Android. It is free software released under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL).
