Editing GNU Octave (section)

==Octave, the language==
The Octave language is an interpreted programming language. It is a [[structured programming]] language (similar to [[C (programming language)|C]]) and supports many common [[C standard library]] functions, and also certain [[POSIX|UNIX]] system calls and functions.<ref>{{cite web
| url        = http://www.network-theory.co.uk/docs/octave3/octave_269.html
| title        = GNU Octave - Controlling subprocesses
| access-date        = 2009-01-28
| date        = 14 November 2008
| archive-url        = https://web.archive.org/web/20090107005339/http://www.network-theory.co.uk/docs/octave3/octave_269.html
| archive-date        = 7 January 2009
| url-status        = dead
}}</ref> However, it does not support passing arguments by reference<ref>{{cite web
| url        = http://www.delorie.com/gnu/docs/octave/octave_105.html
| title      = GNU Octave
| access-date = 2009-01-28
}}</ref> although function arguments are [[copy-on-write]] to avoid unnecessary duplication.

Octave programs consist of a list of function calls or a [[Script (computer programming)|script]]. The syntax is [[Array programming|matrix]]-based and provides various functions for matrix operations. It supports various [[data structure]]s and allows [[object-oriented programming]].<!--Candidate for expansion--><ref>{{cite web
| url        = https://www.gnu.org/software/octave/NEWS-3.2.html
| title      = Summary of important user-visible changes for version 3.2
| access-date = 2012-01-05
}}</ref>

Its syntax is very similar to MATLAB, and careful programming of a script will allow it to run on both Octave and MATLAB.<ref>{{cite web
| url        = http://www.octave.org/wiki/index.php?title=FAQ#Porting_programs_from_Matlab_to_Octave
| title        = FAQ: MATLAB compatibility
| access-date        = 2009-04-04
| archive-date        = 2011-11-21
| archive-url        = https://web.archive.org/web/20111121043348/http://octave.org/wiki/index.php?title=FAQ#Porting_programs_from_Matlab_to_Octave
| url-status        = dead
}}</ref>

Because Octave is made available under the [[GNU General Public License]], it may be freely changed, copied and used.<ref name="about" /> The program runs on [[Microsoft Windows]] and most [[Unix]] and [[Unix-like]] [[operating system]]s, including [[Linux]], [[Android (operating system)|Android]], and [[macOS]].<ref>{{cite web
| url        = http://www.octave.org/wiki/index.php?title=FAQ#On_what_platforms_does_Octave_run.3F
| title        = FAQ: Getting Octave
| access-date        = 2009-04-04
| archive-date        = 2011-11-21
| archive-url        = https://web.archive.org/web/20111121043348/http://octave.org/wiki/index.php?title=FAQ#On_what_platforms_does_Octave_run.3F
| url-status        = dead
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://octave.org/doc/v6.3.0/|title=Top (GNU Octave (version 6.3.0))|website=octave.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Octave for Android - Octave|url=https://wiki.octave.org/Octave_for_Android|access-date=2021-08-23|website=wiki.octave.org}}</ref>