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Reduce (computer algebra system)

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REDUCE
Developer(s)Anthony C. Hearn et al.
Initial release1968; 56 years ago (1968)
Stable release
August 2024; 4 months ago (2024-08)[1]
Repositorysourceforge.net/projects/reduce-algebra/
Written inStandard Lisp
Operating systemCross-platform
TypeComputer algebra system
LicenseModified BSD license
Websitereduce-algebra.sourceforge.io

REDUCE is a general-purpose computer algebra system originally geared towards applications in physics.

The development of REDUCE was started in 1963 by Anthony C. Hearn. Since then, many scientists from all over the world[2] have contributed to its development. REDUCE was open-sourced in December 2008[3] and is available for free under a modified BSD license on SourceForge. Previously it had cost $695.

REDUCE is written entirely in its own Lisp dialect called Standard Lisp[4], expressed in an ALGOL-like syntax called RLISP that is also used as the basis for REDUCE's user-level language.

Implementations of REDUCE are available on most variants of Unix, Linux, Microsoft Windows, or Apple Macintosh systems by using an underlying Portable Standard Lisp (PSL) or Codemist Standard Lisp (CSL) implementation. CSL REDUCE offers a graphical user interface. REDUCE can also be built on other Lisps, such as Common Lisp. The Julia package Reduce.jl[5] uses REDUCE as a backend and implements its semantics in Julia style.

Programming paradigms

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REDUCE's user-level language supports several different programming paradigms. Since it is based on Lisp, which is a functional programming language, REDUCE supports functional programming and all statements have values (although they are not always useful). REDUCE also supports procedural programming by ignoring statement values. Algebraic computation usually proceeds by transforming a mathematical expression into an equivalent but different form. This is called simplification, even though the result might be much longer. (The name REDUCE is a pun on this problem of intermediate expression swell!) In REDUCE, simplification occurs automatically when an expression is entered or computed, controlled by simplification rules and switches. In this way, REDUCE supports rule-based programming, which is the classic REDUCE programming paradigm. In early versions of REDUCE, rules and switches could only be set globally, but modern REDUCE also supports local setting of rules and switches, meaning that they control the simplification of only one expression. REDUCE programs often contain a mix of programming paradigms.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Files on SourceForge".
  2. ^ "REDUCE History and Contributors". REDUCE Computer Algebra System. Retrieved 2024-12-27.
  3. ^ "REDUCE History and Contributors". REDUCE Computer Algebra System. Retrieved 2024-12-27.
  4. ^ "The Standard Lisp Report" (PDF). REDUCE Computer Algebra System. Retrieved 2024-12-27.
  5. ^ chakravala (April 9, 2019). "chakravala/Reduce.jl". GitHub. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
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