Thursday, April 24, 2008

Asian Century Origin
Most of the speculation as to a future Asian century is based on population growth and economic growth forecasts, as well as the growth that has already occurred in much of Asia. While much emphasis is focused on the growing power of China and India, the term Asian Century generally refers to all growth in East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Russia may also be considered a rising economy in Asia, but it is usually not being referred to in the use of this term.

Reasons
Further information: World population
Population growth in Asia is expected to continue through at least the first half of the 21st century. Nearing 4 billion persons in the beginning of the 21st century, the Asian population is predicted to grow to more than 5 billion by 2050 [2]. While its percent of world population is not expected to greatly change, North American and European shares of the global population are expected to decline [3]. This is significant since larger populations invariably increase military, economic, and political clout in the world. [4].

Demographics
Further information: Economy of Asia
One major reason for the belief in a coming Asian Century is the remarkable economic growth in Asia, and the continuing growth rates. Since China's economic reforms in the late 1970s (in farm privatization) and early 1990s (in most cities), the Chinese economy has enjoyed two and half decades of economic growth rates between 8 and 10%. The Indian economy began a similar ascent at the end of 1980s and early 1990s, and has averaged around 4% during this period, though growing slightly over 8% in 2005, and hitting 9.2% in 2006.
Both of these developments involved policy of a degree of managed liberalisation of the economy as well as a turning outwards of the economy towards globalization (both exports and attracting inward investment). The magnitude of this liberalisation and globalisation is still subject to debate. They were part of conscious decisions by key political leaders, especially in India and the PRC.
Also, the populations of the two countries offer a potential market of over two and a quarter billion. The development of the internal consumer market in these two countries has been a major basis for economic development. This has enabled much higher national growth rates for mainland China and India in comparison to Japan, the EU and even the USA. The international cost advantage on goods and services, based on cheaper labor costs, has enabled these two countries to exert a global competitive pressure.
The trend for greater Asian economic dominance has also been based on the extrapolations of recent historic economic trends. Goldman Sachs, in its BRIC economic forecast, highlighted the trend towards mainland China becoming the largest and India the 2nd largest economies by the year 2050 in terms of GDP. The report also predicted the type of industry that each nation would dominate, leading some to deem mainland China 'the industrial workshop of the world' and India 'one of the great service societies'.

Economics
Further information: Culture of Asia
Culturally, the Asian century is symbolised by Hong Kong genre films, Bollywood, and more recently, the Korean wave. The awareness of the different Asian cultures may be a part of a much more culturally aware world, as proposed in the Clash of Civilizations thesis. Equally, the affirmation of Asian cultures has an impact on the identity politics of Asians in Asia and outside in the Asian diasporas.
Though the use of English continues to spread, Asian languages are also becoming more popular to teach and study outside of the continent. The study of Chinese has recently gained greater attention in the United States, owing to a growing belief in the economic advantages of knowing it. It is also being encouraged through PRC's support of Confucius Institutes, which have opened in numerous nations to teach the Chinese language and culture [5].

Culture
The global political position of China and India has risen in international bodies and amongst the world powers, leading the USA and EU to become more active in the process of engagement with these two countries. People's Republic of China is also a permanent member of the UN Security Council. Although India is not a permanent member, it is possible that it will become one or at the least gain a more influential position [6]. Japan is also attempting to become a permanent member [7], though the attempts of both are opposed by other Asian countries (such as Pakistan for India, and China and South Korea for Japan).
An Asian regional bloc may be further developed in 21st century around ASEAN and other bodies on the basis of free trade agreements [8]. However, there is some political concern amongst the national leaderships of different Asian countries about PRC's hegemonic ambitions in the region. Another new organization, the East Asian Summit, could also possibly create an EU like trade zone [9].
The Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov encouraged the idea of a triple alliance between Russia, the PRC and India first formulated by Indian strategist Madhav Das Nalapat in 1983 [10], and supported the idea of a multipolar world [11]. WIth the November 2006 visit of Hu Jintao to India, the idea seems to be gaining some momentum.
The political future in Asia, whether more united or more polarized, is unclear. Yet most if not all forecasts predict the PRC and India to be amongst the major powers if not super powers of the 21st century.

Politics
Despite forecasts that predict the rising economic and political strength of Asia, the idea of an Asian Century has faced criticism. This has included the possibility that the continuing high rate of growth could lead to political upheavals, economic slumps, and environmental problems, especially in mainland China [12]. Others point out that the 21st century will be multipolar, and no one country or continent will have such a concentration of influence. Even in the "American" 20th century there was still a balance of power with the British and other European colonial empires from 1900 until 1945, and with the Soviet Union from 1945 until 1991.

Asian Century See also

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

BitTornado
BitTornado is a BitTorrent client. It is developed by John Hoffman, who also created its predecessor, Shad0w's Experimental Client. Based on the original BitTorrent client, the interface is largely the same, with added features such as
Super seeding mode and web seeding were originally developed by the BitTornado group.
It is programmed using Python, for platform independence.
BitTornado developer John Hoffman decided to ban BitComet users from accessing his client because it exploits super-seeds.

upload/download speed limitation;
prioritised downloading when downloading batches (several files);
detailed information about connections to other peers;
UPnP Port Forwarding (Universal Plug and Play);
IPv6 support (if your OS supports it/has it installed);
PE/MSE support as of version 0.3.18.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Battle of Grand Gulf
The Battle of Grand Gulf was fought on April 29, 1863, between Union and Confederate forces. The Union force, led by Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, launched a naval attack against Confederate positions at Grand Gulf. The attack was unsuccessful.

Monday, April 21, 2008


Carl Philipp Gottlieb von Clausewitz (IPA: [ˈklaʊzəvɪts]) (July 1, 1780November 16, 1831) was a Prussian soldier, military historian and influential military theorist. He is most famous for his military treatise Vom Kriege (complete German text available here), translated into English as On War (complete text available here).

Life and times
Vom Kriege (On War) is a long and intricate investigation of Clausewitz's observations based on his own experience in the Wars of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars and on considerable historical research into those wars and others. It is shaped not only by purely military and political considerations but by Clausewitz's strong interests in art, science, and education.
Some of the key ideas discussed in On War include:
Clausewitz used a dialectical method to construct his argument, leading to frequent modern misinterpretation. As described by Christopher Bassford, professor of strategy at the National War College:
One of the main sources of confusion about Clausewitz's approach lies in his dialectical method of presentation. For example, Clausewitz's famous line that "War is merely a continuation of politics," ("Der Krieg ist eine bloße Fortsetzung der Politik mit anderen Mitteln") while accurate as far as it goes, was not intended as a statement of fact. It is the antithesis in a dialectical argument whose thesis is the point—made earlier in the analysis—that "war is nothing but a duel [or wrestling match, a better translation of the German Zweikampf] on a larger scale." His synthesis, which resolves the deficiencies of these two bold statements, says that war is neither "nothing but" an act of brute force nor "merely" a rational act of politics or policy. This synthesis lies in his "fascinating trinity" [wunderliche Dreifaltigkeit]: a dynamic, inherently unstable interaction of the forces of violent emotion, chance, and rational calculation.[1]
Another example of this confusion is the idea that Clausewitz was a proponent of total war as used in the Third Reich's propaganda in the 1940s. He did not coin the phrase as an ideological ideal--indeed, Clausewitz does not use the term "total war" at all. Rather, he discussed "absolute war" or "ideal war" as the purely logical result of the forces underlying a "pure," Platonic "ideal" of war. In what Clausewitz called a "logical fantasy," war cannot be waged in a limited way: the rules of competition will force participants to use all means at their disposal to achieve victory. But in the real world, such rigid logic is unrealistic and dangerous. As a practical matter, the military objectives in real war that support one's political objectives generally fall into two broad types: "war to achieve limited aims" and war to "disarm" the enemy--i.e., "to render [him] politically helpless or militarily impotent." Thus the complete defeat of one's enemies may be neither necessary, desirable, nor even possible.
In modern times the reconstruction and hermeneutics of Clausewitzian theory has been a matter of some dispute. between one of the most prominent was the analysis of Panagiotis Kondylis a Greek-German writer and philosopher who opposed the popular readings of Raymond Aron (in "Penser la Guerre, Clausewitz) and other liberal writers. In one of his most famous works which was titled Theory of War and first published in German -later translated in Greek by Kondylis himself. In this very influential book Kondylis opposes Raymond Aron's liberal perception of Clausewetzian theory. According to Raymond Aron in Penser La Guerre, Clausewitz, Clausewitz was one of the very first writers condemning the militarism of the military staff and their war-proness (based in the claim "war is a continuation of politics by other means") Kondylis claims that this a reconstruction that is not coherent with Clausewetzian thought. He claims that Clausewitz was morally indifferent to war and that his advices of political rule over war have nothing to do with pacifistic claims. For Clausewitz war is just a mean to the eternal quest for power of the reason d'etat in an anarchical and unsafe world. Other famous writers studying clausewitz's texts and have translated them in english are the war specialists Peter Parret (Princeton University) and Michael Howard and the philosopher, musician and game theorist Anatol Rapoport who has translated the Penguin edition and has comparatively studied Clausewitz and other theories of War such as Tolstoi...

the dialectical approach to military analysis
the methods of "critical analysis"
the nature of the balance-of-power mechanism
the relationship between political objectives and military objectives in war
the asymmetrical relationship between attack and defense
the nature of "military genius" (involving matters of personality and character, beyond intellect)
the "fascinating trinity" (wunderliche Dreifaltigkeit) of war
philosophical distinctions between "absolute" or "ideal war," and "real war"
in "real war," the distinctive poles of a) limited war and b) war to "render the enemy helpless"
"war" belongs fundamentally to the social realm—rather than to the realms of art or science
"strategy" belongs primarily to the realm of art
"tactics" belongs primarily to the realm of science
the importance of "moral forces" (more than simply "morale") as opposed to quantifiable physical elements
the "military virtues" of professional armies (which do not necessarily trump the rather different virtues of other kinds of fighting forces)
conversely, the very real effects of a superiority in numbers and "mass"
the essential unpredictability of war
the "fog" of war
"friction"
strategic and operational "centers of gravity"
the "culminating point of the offensive"
the "culminating point of victory" Influence
Clausewitz's Christian name is sometimes given in non-German sources as Carl Philipp Gottlieb, Carl Maria, or misspelled Karl due to reliance on mistaken source material, conflations with his wife's name, Marie, or mistaken assumptions about German orthography. Carl Philipp Gottfried appears on Clausewitz's tombstone and is thus most likely to be the correct version. The tombstone reads:
Hier ruht in Gott
Carl Philipp Gottfried von Clausewitz
koenigl. General-Major u. Inspecteur der Artillerie
geboren 1 Juni 1780
gestorben 16 Nov 1831
Which translates as:
Here rests with God
Carl Philipp Gottfried von Clausewitz
In the royal service, Major General and Inspector of the Artillery
Born 1 June 1780
Died 16 November 1831
There is no single "correct" spelling for German names before the early 19th century. Vital records were kept by pastors in their parish records. Different pastors used different spellings and commonly ignored how their predecessor may have spelled the same name. The name of the same individual can be found spelled differently in the same parish record, for example, if a pastor registered his birth and a different one his marriage and/or his death. It appears that pastors recorded names as they heard them and spelled them as they believed they should be spelled. Pastors treated persons of importance or high status such as nobility or civil or military officials more deferentially. For the names of such persons it can make sense to distinguish between such spellings as "Carl" or "Karl" even then. The situation changed radically in the Napoleonic era when French civil servants introduced greater discipline in keeping vital records in German lands. Spellings of family and given names were "frozen" in whatever state they happened to be in then. It was, however, not unusual for brothers who made their homes in different parishes to have their family names spelled differently. Such variations endure to this day and confound amateur genealogists who are not familiar with the fluidity of German spellings before the Napoleonic reforms. While spellings of names were fluid when Clausewitz was born, they had become firm by the time of his death. That is why it makes sense to accept the spelling of his name as recorded on his tombstone which, presumably, agrees with the vital records of his death.

Name
"War is politics by other means."

In the film Crimson Tide, the naval officers of the nuclear submarine have a discussion about the meaning of the quote "War is a continuation of politics by other means." The executive officer (played by Denzel Washington) contends that the captain (played by Gene Hackman) has taken a too simplistic reading of von Clausewitz.
In The Frosh Report, Anthony Frosh tells how he was concerned that his traveling companions would think negatively of him for expressing his "von Clausewitz attitude toward global conflict resolution." [2]
Sam Walker's non-fiction book Fantasyland references von Clausewitz, by name, briefly.
In Ian Fleming's "Moonraker", James Bond mentions that he has achieved Clausewitz's first principle in securing his base, though this base is a relationship for intelligence purposes and not a military installation.
In Steinbeck's East of Eden, Adam Trask's servant, Lee asks twice, "Did you ever read von Clausewitz?". Neither of the characters he asks has ever heard of Clausewitz. Lee responded the first time with, "Not very reassuring reading." This was Lee's way of expressing pessimism regarding the future outcome of the Great War.
In Lawrence of Arabia (1962), General Allenby (Jack Hawkins) contends to T.E. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) that "I fight like Clausewitz, you fight like Saxe." (To which Lawrence replies, "We should do very well indeed, shouldn't we?")
In Sam Peckinpah's Cross of Iron (1977), Corporal Steiner (James Coburn)has an ironic conversation in the trenches between hostilities with the advancing Red Army with his comrade, Pvt. Schnurrbart, in which they refer to German philosophers and their views on war. Pvt. Schnurrbart: " ...and Von Clausewitz said, 'war is a continuation of politics with other means.'" "Yes," Steiner says, overlooking the trenches, " ...with other means."
He was mentioned in an episode of Popular by Nicole Julian. Carl von ClausewitzCarl von Clausewitz See also

Note regarding personal names: von is a title prefix denoting some sort of (former) nobility, translated as of. It is an inseparable part of the last name, not a first or middle name. Bibliography

Bassford, Christopher. Clausewitz in English: The Reception of Clausewitz in Britain and America, 1815-1945. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994. Full text on-line here.
Clausewitz, Carl Von (1976, rev.1984). On War, edited and translated by Michael Howard and Peter Paret., Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-05657-9. 
Clausewitz, Carl von. Col. J. J. Graham, translator. Vom Kriege. On War — Volume 1, Project Gutenberg eBook.
Gerhard Muhm : German Tactics in the Italian Campaign , http://www.larchivio.org/xoom/gerhardmuhm2.htm
Gerhard Muhm, La tattica tedesca nella campagna d'Italia, in Linea gotica avamposto dei Balcani, a cura di Amedeo Montemaggi - Edizioni Civitas, Roma 1993
Paret, Peter. Clausewitz and the State: The Man, His Theories, and His Times. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1976.
Rogers, Clifford J. "Clausewitz, Genius, and the Rules", The Journal of Military History, Vol. 66, No. 4. (2002), pp. 1167–1176.
Rothfels, Hans "Clausewitz" pages 93-113 from The Makers of Modern Strategy edited by Edward Mead Earle, Gordon A. Craig & Felix Gilbert, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1943.
Edward J. Villacres and Christopher Bassford, "Reclaiming the Clausewitzian Trinity," Parameters, Autumn 95, pp. 9-19, http://www.clausewitz.com/CWZHOME/Trinity/TRININTR.htm

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Separable affix
A separable affix is an affix that can be detached from the word it attaches to and located elsewhere in the sentence in a certain situation.
German is well known for having many separable affixes. In the sentence "Ich komme gut zu Hause an," the prefix an in the verb ankommen is detached.

Saturday, April 19, 2008


Bahá'í Faith
Bahá'u'lláh The Báb · `Abdu'l-Bahá
The Hidden Words Some Answered Questions
Administrative Order The Guardianship Universal House of Justice Spiritual Assemblies Bahá'í history · TimelineBahá'í divisions Bábís · Shaykh Ahmad
Shoghi Effendi Martha Root · Táhirih Badí' · Apostles Hands of the Cause
Symbols · Laws Teachings · Literature Calendar · DivisionsBahá'í divisions Pilgrimage The Bahá'í Faith has had challenges to leadership at the death of every head of the religion. The vast majority of Bahá'ís have followed a line of authority from Bahá'u'lláh to `Abdu'l-Bahá to Shoghi Effendi to the Custodians to the Universal House of Justice. Sects diverging from this line of leadership have had relatively little success and have failed to attract a sizeable following.
A separate entry discusses the Bahá'í/Bábí split.

`Abdu'l-Bahá's ministry

Shoghi Effendi as Guardian
At 24, Shoghi Effendi was particularly young when he assumed leadership of the religion in 1921, as provided for by `Abdu'l-Bahá in his Will and Testament. He had received a Western education at the American University of Beirut and later at Balliol College, Oxford.
Muhammad-`Alí took the opportunity to revive his claim to leadership of the Bahá'í community. He forcibly seized the keys of the Tomb of Bahá'u'lláh at the mansion of Bahjí, expelled its keeper, and demanded that he be recognized by the authorities as the legal custodian of that property. But the Palestine authorities, after investigations, instructed the British officer in `Akká to deliver the keys into the hands of the keeper loyal to Shoghi Effendi.

Appointment

Main article: Covenant-breaking in Shoghi Effendi's immediate family Family Members Expelled
After the death of `Abdu'l-Bahá, Ruth White questioned the Will's authenticity as early as 1926,

American Disputes

The founding of the Universal House of Justice

Main article: Shoghi Effendi Passing of Shoghi Effendi

Main article: Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá Criteria for Guardianship
The Will established the institution of the Guardianship, making it an appointed hereditary executive position, in conjunction with the Universal House of Justice, mentioned by Bahá'u'lláh as an elected legislative body. Their roles are complimentary, the former providing authoritative interpretation,

Relationship between the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice

Main article: Hands of the Cause Role of the Hands of the Cause

Main article: Mason Remey Charles Mason Remey

Main article: Universal House of Justice A break in the line of Guardians
Among the Bahá'ís who accepted Mason Remey as the second Guardian, several further divisions have occurred. All those that profess belief in Mason Remey as the second Guardian do not accept the Universal House of Justice established in 1963, but amongst themselves have a variety of opinions on legitimacy and the proper succession of authority.

Further development of Remey's followers
Orthodox Bahá'ís accept Joel Marangella as the Third Guardian and successor of Charles Mason Remey.
Marangella was serving as chair of the National Spiritual Assembly of France in 1961, which was the only NSA to accept Remey as the Second Guardian. When this happened, the Custodians declared five members of the NSA of France to be covenant-breakers, and dissolved the Assembly. The Custodians were able to gain control of the National Bahá'í Center; including the funds and mailing lists, and the great majority of French Bahá'ís sided with the Custodians. Donald Harvey and Jacques Soghomonian were among the members of the NSA of France declared as covenant-breakers by the Hands of the Cause.
After Mason Remey made his proclamation he appointed a second International Bahá'í Council; with Marangella as President, and 8 vice presidents. Remey insisted that these members not meet in the same city, nor be on the same airplane, at the same time; for fear that if something happened the line of Guardians would cease. In 1962 Remey gave Marangella a sealed envelope, with instructions to open it when the time was right. In 1965 Mason Remey called for the Council to become active. Marangella then opened the sealed letter, which was a hand-written note by Mason appointing Marangella as his successor. Marangella looks upon that time as the time of his official appointment. Remey then changed his mind and deactivated the International Bahá'í Council. Remey's behavior became very disjointed after that time; with some of his followers (including Marangella) concluding that Remey was suffering from dementia.
In 1967 Remey appointed Donald Harvey as his successor without excommunicating Marangella. Marangella proclaimed himself the Third Guardian in 1969; saying that Remey was no longer mentally able to function as Guardian. He also claimed that when Remey activated the Council he ceased to be the Guardian at that moment, since, Marangella claimed, there couldn't be two Guardians alive at the same time. Remey did not relinquish his title as Guardian, but he did not "declare" Marangella a covenant-breaker either.
The Orthodox Bahá'í Community under Marangella's leadership continues. Membership data is scarce. One source estimated them at no more than 100 members in 1988.

Orthodox Bahá'í Faith

Main article: Bahá'ís Under the Provisions of the Covenant Bahá'ís Under the Provisions of the Covenant
The Orthodox Bahá'í Faith Under the Regency was founded by Reginald "Rex" King, a very successful Bahá'í teacher. When Remey declared himself the Second Guardian in 1960, King accepted him, and was elected to become the first Secretary of the National Assembly set up by Remey in 1963.
After conflicts with several of Remey's followers, including Marangella, King decided that "neither Mason Remey nor Joel Marangella had in truth ever been guardians... because of the lack of lineal descendancy". King claimed that what Remey had actually been was "a regent Guardian" for the office of Guardian which was in fact in occultation. King further asserted that he himself "was in actuality the Second Regent...." King's argument was that Remey was senile in old age, and didn't know what he was doing. Following his death in 1977, King left leadership of the community to a Council of Regents, who reorganized as the Tarbiyat Bahá'í Community.
The Regency Bahá'ís do not claim the authority to declare Covenant-breakers, so they try to freely associate with other Bahá'ís. The Council of Regents, which consists mostly of King's family, tries to "maintain the integrity of the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh until such time as the Second Guardian makes himself known, and claims his rightful office." They also still maintain that "the Faith will never be permanently split into factions or denominations as has happened in all previous religions"; with an emphasis on permanently. Membership figures are not published for the Tarbiyat Bahá'í Community. They appear to be restricted to a single group in Las Vegas, New Mexico.

Tarbiyat Bahá'í Community
Francis Spataro of New York City, a supporter of Harvey, independently organized "The Remey Society" after losing favor with Harvey. Spataro published books about Charles Mason Remey , and at one time had a newsletter with about 400 recipients. When Spataro began to preach that Charles Mason Remey was a "Prophet" Harvey cut all ties to Spataro. He then continued to promote the life and works of Charles Mason Remey. In 1995 Francis Spataro became an Old Catholic priest and left the Bahá'í religion altogether. The Remey Society is now extinct.

The Remey Society
The House of Mankind and the Universal Palace of Order followed Jamshid Ma'ani and John Carré, but appear now to be defunct. In the early 1970s a Persian man named Jamshid Ma'ani claimed he was "The Man"; or a new Manifestation of God. He gained a few dozen Iranian Bahá'í followers. John Carré heard of Jamshid, and wrote a book about him; trying to get other Bahá'ís to accept him as a new Manifestation. Carré even invited "The Man" to live in his home in California, but soon concluded, after living with "The Man" for four months, that "The Man" was not at all godly or spiritual and certainly not a Manifestation of God. "The Man" went back to Iran, and Carré ended all association with him. Carré then continued as an "independent Bahá'í" and eventually wrote a book that proclaimed a new Bahá'í Prophet (minor prophet but not a Manifestation) would arise in the year 2001. A Bahá'í from North Carolina named Eric Stetsen wrote an online book in the same style of Bahá'u'lláh; proclaiming (in 2001) that he was that "Prophet". However, Stetson concluded about a year or so later that he was not a "Prophet" and that he had been mistaken about the Bahá'í Faith, and became a born-again Christian . A copy of Carré's book outlining his beliefs is maintained online here [15].

The Man
After Harvey's death in 1991, his followers turned to his chosen successor Jacques Soghomonian. Soghomonian has resisted efforts by his followers to organize or to actively proselytize. Soghomonian claims membership of the mainstream Bahá'í Faith will one day "see the light", and reinstate the Guardianship with himself, or (more likely) one of his successors as Guardian; and thus there is no need for two competing organizations. Soghomonian believes that organization is not important, but what is important is to assure that the Guardianship continues, and thus the living Guardian needs only one follower (to act as successor) to continue the line of Guardians who shall one day, perhaps far in the future, return to head the Bahá'í Faith worldwide.

Conclusion

Friday, April 18, 2008

Scilab
Scilab is a numerical computational package developed by INRIA and École nationale des ponts et chaussées (ENPC) in France. It is a high level programming language, most of its functionality based around it being easy to condense many single computations into one line of code. It does this primarily by abstracting primitive data types to be functionally equivalent to matrices.
It is similar in functionality to MATLAB and is available to download at no cost. The program enables users to compute a wide range of mathematical operations from relatively simple operations such as multiplication to high level operations such as correlation and complex arithmetic. The software is often used for signal processing, statistical analysis, image enhancement, fluid dynamics simulations etc.
The Scilab web page describes it as "open source" software. However, since its license does not permit commercial redistribution of modified versions, it does not satisfy the Open Source Definition and seems to belong to the semi-free software category.
Scilab has been widely used in several industry and research projects, and many contributions have been made by users. The syntax is similar to MATLAB but the two are not completely compatible, though there is a converter included in Scilab for MATLAB=>Scilab Conversions. Scilab has fewer help files than MATLAB.
Scilab also includes a package called Scicos for modeling and simulation of explicit and implicit dynamical systems including both continuous and discrete sub-systems and the screenshot shows the Scicos block diagram editor in the top right window.

Syntax
Scilab syntax is largely based on the MATLAB language. The simplest way to execute scilab code is to type it in at the prompt, >> , in the graphical command window. In this way, Scilab can be used as an interactive mathematical shell.

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