How to Install Octave Online on Ubuntu Server

In this tutorial, we will guide you through the steps to install Octave Online on Ubuntu Server. Octave Online is a web-based version of the Octave programming language, which is an open-source alternative to MATLAB. With Octave Online, you can perform numerical computations, data analysis, and data visualization directly in your browser.

Prerequisites

To install Octave Online on your Ubuntu Server, you need the following:

• Ubuntu Server (latest version)
• Access to the root account or an account with sudo privileges
• Internet connectivity
• Web browser (Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox is recommended)

Step 1: Update system packages

Before we begin, let’s make sure all the system packages are up to date using the following command:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade

Step 2: Install Apache web server

Octave Online requires a web server to run the web interface, so we will install Apache using the following command:

sudo apt-get install apache2

After the installation is complete, verify that Apache is running by entering the server’s IP address in your web browser. You should see the Apache default page confirming that Apache is running.

Step 3: Install PHP and its modules

Octave Online also needs PHP and its modules to function properly. We will install PHP and its modules using the following command:

sudo apt-get install php libapache2-mod-php php-mysql php-curl php-xml php-mbstring php-zip

After the installation is complete, restart Apache with the following command:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

Step 4: Download and install Octave Online

First, create a new directory for Octave Online in the Apache document root directory:

sudo mkdir /var/www/html/octave-online

Then, navigate to the newly created directory and download the Octave Online files using the following command:

cd /var/www/html/octave-online
sudo wget https://github.com/ivan-ristovic/octave-online/archive/refs/heads/main.zip

Next, extract the downloaded file using the following command:

sudo unzip main.zip

After the extraction is complete, rename the extracted directory to a more appropriate name, such as “octave-online”:

sudo mv octave-online-main octave-online

Step 5: Configure Octave Online

Now that Octave Online is installed, we need to configure it to work with Apache.

First, navigate to the “config” directory within the Octave Online directory:

cd /var/www/html/octave-online/config

Then, copy the “config.default.php” file to a new file named “config.php”:

sudo cp config.default.php config.php

Next, edit the “config.php” file using your preferred text editor (such as nano) and change the following lines:

$config['base_url'] = 'http://localhost/octave-online/';
$config['ws_url'] = 'ws://localhost:8080/';

To:

$config['base_url'] = 'http://your_server_ip_address/octave-online/';
$config['ws_url'] = 'ws://your_server_ip_address:8080/';

Save and close the file.

Step 6: Start Octave Online server

To start the Octave Online server, navigate to the “websocket” directory within the Octave Online directory:

cd /var/www/html/octave-online/websocket

Then, start the Octave Online server using the following command:

sudo php server.php

You should see the following message:

Starting Octave Online WebSocket server on 0.0.0.0:8080...

Step 7: Access Octave Online

To access Octave Online, simply enter the IP address of your Ubuntu Server in your web browser, followed by “/octave-online”. For example, if your server’s IP address is “192.168.0.123”, enter the following URL in your web browser:

http://192.168.0.123/octave-online

You should see the Octave Online homepage, where you can start using Octave Online.

That’s it! You have successfully installed Octave Online on your Ubuntu Server. Enjoy coding!