Axiom is a free, general-purpose computer algebra system (CAS) designed not only to perform symbolic calculations but also to support the development and research of mathematical algorithms. Its distinguishing feature is a strongly typed mathematical hierarchy that represents algebraic structures in a way intended to reflect mathematics itself. It includes its own programming language, compiler, interpreter, and extensive mathematical libraries. The project began at IBM in 1971 under the name Scratchpad, where it served for decades as a research platform for computational mathematics. It was later renamed Axiom, commercialized by the Numerical Algorithms Group (NAG), and eventually released as free software after NAG withdrew it from the commercial market in 2001.
The long-term goal of Axiom is unusual: its developers want to preserve mathematical software as a durable body of computational mathematical knowledge, rather than merely as working code. A major part of this effort is rewriting and documenting the system using literate programming, where explanations of the mathematics, algorithms, and design decisions are kept alongside the source code. The project also aims to improve its user interface, make Axiom more useful for teaching, expand its mathematics, integrate logic programming, and provide extensive documentation ranging from tutorials and user guides to detailed volumes describing the compiler, interpreter, algebra hierarchy, and underlying mathematical theory. In this sense, Axiom is as much a long-term mathematical knowledge project as it is a symbolic computation program.
AXIOM
The long-term goal of Axiom is unusual: its developers want to preserve mathematical software as a durable body of computational mathematical knowledge, rather than merely as working code. A major part of this effort is rewriting and documenting the system using literate programming, where explanations of the mathematics, algorithms, and design decisions are kept alongside the source code. The project also aims to improve its user interface, make Axiom more useful for teaching, expand its mathematics, integrate logic programming, and provide extensive documentation ranging from tutorials and user guides to detailed volumes describing the compiler, interpreter, algebra hierarchy, and underlying mathematical theory. In this sense, Axiom is as much a long-term mathematical knowledge project as it is a symbolic computation program.
AXIOM
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