Frequently Asked Questions

You've got questions? We've got answers ... :)

• Please review the list of Common Mistakes and the list of MathAction Problems if you are have never used MathAction before.
• If you are learning to use Axiom and think that someone must have solved some particular problem before you, check this list of Common Axiom Problems.
• If you are a Axiom developer or plan to start by compiling Axiom from source code check-out the Axiom Developer FAQ.
• You can searchfor relevant pages on this web site based on keywords from the text. Enter keywords in the box at the upper right and press 'Enter'.
• If you would like to know some things that are not yet part of Axiom, check the Wish List.
• Or check-out the WesterProblemSet.

Finally, if you can not find the answer to your questions here, then please send an email to:

"axiom-mail@nongnu.org":mailto:axiom-mail@nongnu.org -- for general questions about using Axiom or search "axiom-mail":http://lists.nongnu.org/mailman/listinfo/axiom-mail

"axiom-math@nongnu.org":mailto:axiom-math@nongnu.org -- for questions of a mathematical nature or search "axiom-math":http://lists.nongnu.org/mailman/listinfo/axiom-math

"axiom-developer@nongnu.org":mailto:axiom-developer@nongnu.org -- for technical questions about Axiom development and programming search "axiom developer":http://lists.nongnu.org/mailman/listinfo/axiom-developer

or simply press the "edit":/FAQ/editform button at the top right of this page and enter your question to this site. Yes, edit this page. Your question will then automatically be forwarded to the "axiom-developer@nongnu.org":mailto:axiom-developer@nongnu.org mailing list. Probably some hours later someone will have updated this page to include an answer to your question.

1. What is Axiom's license?

Axiom is free software, available under a BSD like license. For more details, please have a look in the "licences available in the CVS repository":http://savannah.nongnu.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs/axiom/axiom/license.

1. How can I contribute code to Axiom?

Look at AxiomDevelopment and HowToSubmitPatches.

1. What is the future of Axiom?

Tim Daly is Lead Axiom Developer. He has a fairly "detailed agenda":http://axiom.axiom-developer.org/axiom-website/currentstate.html for Axiom.

1. What is the size of Axiom? Axiom is: ((--rhx: this data should be generated automatically))
   • 92 MB of source code
   • about 56 MB once compiled
   • 403591 lines for the interpreted in 220 files
   • 255790 lines of algebra in 371 files

1. On which system is known to run Axiom?

   People have compiled and run Axiom on:

   • Debian GNU/Linux 3.0, on i386, Sparc64. On PowerPC? architecture, Axiom will not build because it requires gcc-3.3 (which supports -mlong-calls option, supporting relocs of more tha 24 bits).
   • Debian GNU/Linux sid, on mipsel, ia64, i386, ppc, alpha, and sparc (and more to come!)
   • RedHat? Linux 7.3 and 9.0 on i386
   • Slackware Linux 8.0.01 on Intel ProLiant? ML530 2@800MHz
   • Red Hat Linux 8.0 on Intel ProLiant? ML530 2@1.0GHz -- Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES release 2.1 (Panama)
   • SuSE? Linux Ent Svr 8.0 on Intel ProLiant? DL360 G2 2@1.4GHz
   • Red Flag Linux 4.0
   • Gentoo Linux -- Axiom is included in the Portage package repository of Gentoo Linux. It compiles and executes fine on at least x86 systems. I believe they are still using the September 2005 source tarball.
   • Microsoft Windows

1. Where can I find articles related to Axiom and Aldor?

Look at "articles":http://axiom-portal.newsynthesis.org/refs/articles on the Axiom portal website.

1. How can I edit a page on the AxiomWiki?

Click at _edit_ in the upper right corner of the corresponding page and follow the Wikipedia guideline of "being bold":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:Be_bold_in_updating_pages in updating wiki pages. Yes, don't ask, just update (i.e. improve) the page.

1. How to create new pages on AxiomWiki?

Look at Creating New Pages.

1. How can I download Axiom?

Look at AxiomBinaries.

1. I have found a bug. What should I do?

The Issue Tracker is the right place to go. Try to classify your bug by choosing a category and severity. Enter a detailed description of the bug. Any information that is needed to reproduce the bug should be entered at the bottom of Issue Tracker. In order to reduce spamming to that site we require that you identify yourself before you submit the bug.

1. How can I submit a patch?

Look at HowToSubmitPatches.

1. How should pamphlet files look like?

There is currently no clear definition. Look at SandboxPamphletStyle for more information and add your personal opinion there.

The most cited example currently is "dhmatrix.spad":http://axiom-wiki.newsynthesis.org/axiom--test--1/src/algebra/DhmatrixSpad Press on _pdf_ or _src_ on that page if you want to look inside.

1. Why can't I assign a variable a type using the syntax variablename : Type?

The short answer is that in a strongly typed system like Axiom handling definite values is a different problem from handling variables. Algorithms and methods to handle "indefinite" values are distinct from those needed for "concrete" values. Axiom currently handles only the latter - the former represent a complex topic. See this page: IndefiniteTypes