Re: Graphical interface

[Jordi Gutiérrez Hermoso]

On 14/04/2008, Stuart Brorson <address@hidden> wrote:
> > I am a very new Octave-user, (5 minutes). I am questioning if there is any
> > graphical interface for KDE- Desktops?
[snip]
>  Why do you need a graphical interface?

We've asked newbies this question before, and they often say that they
like to be able to have the matrices and other allocated data
available at a glance. QtOctave seems to mostly provide this already.

I think personally that a good editor and a debugger would be all that
you need. For the former The One True Editor will suffice[1][2] and
the latter still requires some backend changes in Octave itself.

I would also like it if the method of enlightenment in the following
AI koan were still possible:

    A famous Lisp Hacker noticed an Undergraduate sitting in front of
    a Xerox 1108, trying to edit a complex Klone network via a
    browser. Wanting to help, the Hacker clicked one of the nodes in
    the network with the mouse, and asked "what do you see?" Very
    earnesty, the Undergraduate replied "I see a cursor." The Hacker
    then quickly pressed the boot toggle at the back of the keyboard,
    while simultaneously hitting the Undergraduate over the head with
    a thick Interlisp Manual. The Undergraduate was then Enlightened.

The beginner's mind is clouded by details to which he is a
slave. Trascend the GUI. There is no GUI. Mu.

- Jordi G. H.

[1] All hail Emacs!
[2] This email composed in The One True Editor