Experience with O-Matrix 1

[mrMikee]

Does anyone have experience with O-Matix?

I used to do a lot of programming with visual Basic but for the last few years have been using Mathematica CalcCenter. I actually do like CalcCenter but for larger programs it seems to take longer than it would have with Basic, in particular the longer ones. Some of my programs get into quite a bit file access for the purpose of evaluating output of structural analysis programs. Before I go back to Visual Basic I started to look for something different and came up with O-Matrix. It seems to have a Basic look to it and I think I might like it.

I like CalcCenter for its easy handling of mathematics and the fact that a single file contains both the equations for the calculations and the results. Basic on the other hand requires you to work at getting the output formatted to look good. You will have an output file or print out, and a program file. If matrix math is needed you write the routines yourself. CalcCenter is capable of extremely sophisticated mathematics.

Or maybe there's something else that would fit the bill.

Any comments would be appreciated.

Thanks,
-Mike

 

[GregLocock]

I had a look at O-Matrix, but the thing I needed most, Matlab compatibility, failed at the first hurdle.

The rest of it looked pretty sensible, but I didn't spend much time on it.

I don't know how big your matrices are, I've always found the interpreted packages Matlab and Scilab fast enough. I've run FEA models in Matlab for example, using OpenFEM.

In addition to MathCAD, which I can no longer recommend (unless you buy v5 off Ebay), and may not be especially good for I/O, have you looked at TKSolver, MathMagic (don't know anything about this), or of course Excel and VBA.







Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[mrMikee]

Greg,

The matrices I work with are small. My structures are generally about 100 to 200 members where I calculate stresses usually for 20 to 30 loadcases, sometimes up to 75 loadcases. The analysis is all done by Multiframe. This would be a real effort to do by hand, but not too much work for just about any software. A perfect solution for me would be a combination of VB and CalcCenter, and O-Matrix appears to be a possibility.

I all fairness I should say that I do like CalcCenter (a lite version of Mathematica) for many things. It's just that for long programs I miss the logic and organization of a procedural language like Basic. Also I'd have to say that in my opinion the output of CalcCenter is very utilitarian. However since I am currently using VB to reformat output from the analysis program to make it easier to manipulate in CalcCenter, it probably makes sense to do it all with VB. In particular because Multiframe has OLE automation available.

For now I will take a look at MathMagic and Scilab.

Thanks for the information.

Regards,
-Mike

 

[GregLocock]

I spent a little longer looking at MathMagic, it is not what you are looking for.

I know what you mean about basic - that's why I use Scilab - it is like using Basic, but is designed for maths.

Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[mrMikee]

Greg,

Thanks for the tip about MathMagic. It still looks like if I try anything it will be O-Matrix.

-Mike

 

[GregLocock]

I'll be interested to hear how you get on, it is cheap ($300?) and looks powerful. I'd love to have Matlab at home but it is just a ridiculous price.

Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[mrMikee]

For now due to current workload I will need to keep things the way they are. I don't want another trial period to timeout before I get a chance to try the software. If I find anything interesting I will update.

Regards,
-Mike

 

[bukac1]

Try

http://www.bluebit.gr

it has everything one may need and it costs less than $200.00

 

[mrMikee]

bukac1,

That site looks interesting and would be a possibility for programming in VB.net; however I've heard that VB.net is significantly different than VB6. For me it would involve learning how to program without the gosub. I realize now that I have written only one VB program in the last 6 months, and that was a program to reorganize analysis data files for use with Mathematica.

http://www.bluebit.gr

is definitely something I will add to my programming resource file.

Thanks,
-Mike

 

[ossewa]

Hi,
I'm looking for a program that'll do cross-correlation.
Most will do auto/canonical/etc-correlation, but seem not to do cross-. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Ossewa

 

[mrMikee]

ossewa,

Well I have to admit I have no clue. You could try going to sites for these programs and do a search for 'canonical' etc.

Mathematica ..

http://www.wolfram.com

Maple
Matlab
Mathcad

Also..

http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Cross-Correlation.html

If you have the patience to search the internet for a while, you can find about 30 to 40 math or calculation programs, some very specialized, and some free.

Regards,
-Mike

 

[GregLocock]

Scilab Mathcad or matlab will easily do it, it is a built in function.

Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.