Numerics osax 1.1.7, Read me, October 2009

Overview

Numerics.osax is a Scripting Addition (a plug-in for AppleScript) to provide computational commands. Numerics.osax includes five Suites: Linear algebra, Signal processing (FFT and convolution), Image files, 3D array handling, and Numerical data files.

Installation, requirements, and incompatibilities

Numerics.osax 1.1.7 is for MacOS X 10.5 and higher.
Numerics.osax requires Satimage.osax, another free Scripting Addition by Satimage-software.
Numerics.osax is included in the installation of Smile regular edition and of Smile full edition, and it can also be installed and used independently of Smile.
If you have installed the latest version of Smile, Numerics.osax was automatically installed properly, and you can skip the rest of this section.
Numerics.osax is incompatible with FFT.osax, an osax that we provided in the past, and whose commands are now included in Numerics.osax. Thus, if you install Numerics.osax without installing Smile, remove any FFT.osax which might have been installed in either of the two locations:
/Library/ScriptingAdditions/

/Users/<login>/Library/ScriptingAdditions/
Numerics.osax works on two packed array data structures: array of real and matrix. Those classes are defined in Satimage.osax, thus you must have Satimage.osax installed to use Numerics.osax.

Numerics.osax and Smile

You can use Numerics.osax independently of Smile, in any AppleScript. However, using Numerics.osax in Smile brings additional benefits.

In Smile regular edition or in Smile full edition, you can use the display command to get a nice display as a string of an array of real or a matrix.
In Smile full edition, several commands are available to produce a nice graphical display of an array of real (as a curve, for instance) or a matrix (as a color map or as a surface, for instance), and of all the quantities that the osax handles (for instance, isosurfaces.)

Description

Linear algebra: Basic linear algebra and basic commands for inverting, diagonalizing, and decomposing a matrix. These commands support complex matrices. Product of matrices and/with vectors: M.M, M.v, v.M, <u,v>.
Signal processing: Fast Fourier transforms: 1d, grouped, n-dimensional, and 2d. Uses algorithms which scale in time like N.Log N. Not powers of 2-limited. Convolution and correlation of two arrays, support periodic boundary conditions. Interpolation, linear or spline, supports periodic boundary conditions.
Image processing: Basic commands for doing image processing: getting an image's bounds, importing it as a numerical matrix and back, and doing particles analysis (get statistical info and contours of particles of an image.)
3D array handling: Isosurfaces of a scalar field, and stream lines of a vectorial field (results are triangle lists.) Other commands to handle 3D data, extract fractions, and visualize them conveniently.
Numerical data files: This Suite introduces a new extensible data format, XNF (eXtensible Numerical File format.), extension .xnf. XNF files store binary 1D, 2D, and 3D arrays. One XNF file may contain arbitrarily many arrays of various kinds, stored under a variety of formats: the XNF file manages a Table of contents which specifies the properties of each array. Access to arrays is simply by name. Since the Table of contents is a XML, you can apply XPaths to retrieve a particular set of data. XMLLib osax required.

Documentation

Click to view the AppleScript dictionary for Numerics.osax

The documentation for Numerics.osax is available on the Web. It is really the section in the documentation of Smile about the scientific environment.

Users of Smile: the documentation for the commands of Numerics.osax is in your machine. To open it, select Help > Documentation and visit the Table of contents. Or, in Smile, select a command from Numerics.osax, for instance transpose, then pull down the contextual menu (ctrl-click.)

Technical support and feedback

To report a bug, to suggest an improvement, or to ask for help, use the Technical support for Smile.
Subscribe to the discussion list for Smile: visit the home page of sul, Smile Users List.

Distribution and property

This software is distributed by Satimage-software on a feedbackware basis. Before using it you must agree with the licensing terms for our free software.

In short, these terms specify that you owe us your feedback, and that you can integrate this software in a product or yours provided you state clearly enough that you are doing so.

Acknowledgments

A sincere thank is extended to those who reported bugs, offered suggestions, or collaborated with us at any level.

Disclaimer

In no event will Satimage-software be liable for any consequences of the use or of the lack of use of this software.