Another popular free mathematical tool comes in the form of GNU Octave, which is intended for numerical computations like those needed for chemical engineering and scientific computing. The software platform is a conglomerate of tools designed to solve numerical linear algebra problems, getting to the ‘root’ of non-linear equations and integrating ordinary functions. The fun doesn’t stop there, as Octave also incorporates tools for manipulating polynomials as well as integrating ordinary differential and differential-algebraic equations. As with most great open-source software, Octave can be modified and redistributed by its users using any number of languages, including C, C++ and FORTRAN among a host of others.
More information: GNU Octave.