FAQ
1. Q: What is EngLab?
A: EngLab is an Open Source Mathematical and Engineering platform intended for users with little or no programming knowledge.
2. Q: Is EngLab a MATLAB clone?
A: Unlike other similar projects, e.g. Octave, EngLab is not intended to be a MATLAB clone. On the contrary, EngLab seeks to provide an alternative approach to the mathematical/calculational problems engineers and scientists face in their field of expertise. Using C-like syntax, multiple type variables and a continuously extensible set of toolboxes, EngLab lays out an easy-to-use and powerful environment for engineers and scientists with experience or not.
3. Q: Why was the name EngLab chosen?
A: All the current EngLab developers are engineers. The most important task of the scientific process is the experiment, which is usually performed in a laboratory. So there you have it. Engineering Laboratory.
4. Q: How did the whole project start?
A: On June 2007 some students of the Electrical and Computer Engineering department of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki were fed up with existing mathematical platforms, either commercial or open source. The reason was that a lot of their class projects had to be designed in those platforms, since there was a huge already established toolbox base that was fast to use, but there were significant drawbacks:
- The programing language was un-scientific and irregular.
- In order to use the toolboxes you had to program through an interpreted language that significantly decreased the speed of execution
- Only a narrow subset of common data types was supported
- Dynamic allocation of memory space was slow
So they decided to start writing a new platform application that would be open source, fast, scientific and scalable.
5. Q: Who are the members of the Englab Team?
A:All current members of the EngLab development team are Electical and Computer Engineer students or graduates of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. The main developers of Englab, presented with alphabetical order are:
- Gavves Stratis
- Serenis Haralampos
- Tsardoulias Emmanouil
Other developers of Englab are (or were):
- Gkekas Christos
- Parastatidis Nikos
- Vogianou Thanassis
6. Q: Under which license is the EngLab source code released?
A: EngLab is released under GNU/GPL v2 License.
7. Q: May I join the EngLab team?
A: We are currently looking for new people to help us with the development of toolboxes and add new features. If you have knowledge in C++ programming please contact as at Englab Support List
8. Q: What is EngLab about?
A: EngLab is about creating a new fast and scalable mathematical platform that is closer to a programming language than other programs, but still retains features such as on demand toolbox loading and data processing with small programming language.
9. Q: What is Englab NOT about?
A: EngLab in NOT about creating an MATLAB clone. EngLab was never designed to be a compatible platform, but a better one!!
10. Q: How reliable is Englab?
A: EngLab current version is at alpha stage. That means that new features are constantly being added, but the reliability is still an issue to be solved with your help by reporting bugs here : Englab Bug Report
11. Q: How can I contact the members of the Englab Team?
A: You can contact the members of the Englab team by sending an e-mail to the mail-list : Englab Support List
12. Q: How can I contribute to the project?
A: Every user of Englab can contribute to the project with three ways:
- By reporting any bugs that occur when using Englab. This can be done here: Englab Bug Report
- By adding any features that you assume will be useful to the Englab community. This includes new functionalities, and of course new toolboxes. You can request new features here : Englab Feature Request
- By joining the Bugfest Team (the developing team of Englab), and help us make Englab better.
13. Q: Is there any similar software? What are the benefits Englab offers?
A: The most known software similar to Englab is Octave. Octave is currently in version 2.1, so you can assume that Octave has many functionalities that Englab does not. Despite this, we are trying to make Englab better and better..
14. Q: What platforms does Englab support?
A: Englab supports all versions of Windows and Unix (theoretically!). For now, the main development is beeing done for Linux, so Window users... be patient! Englab GUI is supported only for Linux. On the other hand Englab Console is released both for Windows and Linux.
15. Q: I think I found a bug! Who should I tell?
A: You can report any bug here: Englab Bug Report
16. Q: Where can I obtain Englab?
A: Englab has two release sections: The Englab Console and the Englab GUI. Englab GUI is a stand-alone application, so you don't have to install Englab Console in order to use it. Englab Console, GUI and Toolboxes can be downloaded from here: Englab Downloads
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