New Project

[Izak]

Dear All,

I am considering a new project. Unfortunately, it is highly mathematical and there are a number of programming challenges to be overcome. I am looking for some advice on what would be a good programming language/software package to use.

The first stage in this is to diagonalize a 1400 (or more) x 750 (or more) matrix. I was about to attempt this using excel, but became quickly aware of the 256 column limit which makes this impossible!

I also need to be able to graph data really well. As implied above, I have some quite detailed datasets and the information yielded could have (many) more than 3 dimensions! I need to be able to label datasets and display them in a number of ways.

Finally, I need to be able to make a database and website (I haven't even started to investigate this) which can communicate dynamically with the program once it's completed. So the program needs scope for this.

I hope I've explained this well enough and that this is the correct forum to seek this kind of advice. Any such advice would be of great value.

Thanks

Isak

[WingedPanther]

Java, C++, Delphi, and many other languages are capable of doing all these things. What languages are you familiar with now?

[Izak]

I have done some programming with matlab, but I found the coding very longwinded. I have also used labview. I found it very straightforward and I am considering using it again (except it's quite expensive!) I have a lot of experience of excel and I even learned some unix a long time ago.

Do you know any good free programs like this or do you think I'll have to shell out some clams?

Thanks for replying so quickly!

Regards

Izak

[WingedPanther]

All the languages I mentioned have free compilers/development environments available. It's really a question of picking a direction.

[Izak]

OK - I'll have a read up about all of them. Can you recommend a development tool with good graphing (or a plug in for one)? I think C++ is probably the one I have most experience with. Is it commonly used with databases? At a fundamental level, my project is supposed to work a bit like facebook. My friends will have an account and this will enable them to log on and use the program. I know literally nothing about databases.

Many thanks

[WingedPanther]

C++ can work with databases, though it would probably be easier to use the functionality in Delphi/Java. Delphi has native support for charts and graphs, which may come in handy as well.

[Izak]

Great, thanks for the tip.