[TriZPUG] {science, python} newb seeks {calculation, formatting} advice

[Bjoern Brandenburg]

On Sep 2, 2008, at 12:57 AM, Tom Roche wrote:
>>>> m_t=1e-11 # converting units in my head--"danger, Will Robinson!"

You might want to look into Frink [1], which advertises itself as full- 
fledged programming language that "tracks units of measure (feet,  
meters, kilograms, watts, etc.) through all calculations, allowing you  
to make physical calculations easily, to mix units of measure  
transparently, and ensures that the answers come out right."

Regarding Latex/OO.o, I would really suggest investing the time to  
learn Latex. It's really not difficult to get startet and it is very  
easy to generate Latex from your scripts. As a plus, it looks very  
professional and once you get to writing scientific papers you are  
ready to go. OO.o/Word are really not that great for writing paper in  
my opinion.

Personally, I dislike Matlab as a language. May I suggest the Python- 
based  Sage [2]? It does have a pretty cool notebook feature [3] that  
you could use together with a PDF printer.

- Bjoern

[1] http://futureboy.us/frinkdocs/
[2] http://www.sagemath.org/
[3] http://www.flickr.com/photos/sagescreenshots/sets/72157603532209437/