Matrix Playground
Overview
Matrix Playground is a web-based linear algebra calculator that lets users perform various operations on 2D matrices. It is designed to be easy to use, ideal for students and educators. I initially designed and built this project for myself while taking Linear Algebra at university, but I later decided to make it public for others to use as well.
Main features
- Matrix multiplication
- Elementary row operations
- Row reduction to echelon form calculator
- Inverse calculator
- Determinant calculator
History system
When playing around with matrices to better understand the concepts, it helps to keep track of the changes you make step by step, and be able to revert to a previous state. Matrix Playground was designed with this in mind, saving each step in a history stack that can be navigated through easily.
Tech stack
The first version of this app was built with vanilla HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. I later decided to port it to Next.js to make use of the React ecosystem and to make it easier to maintain.
Reception
The project was well received by my friends and classmates, many of whom found it useful for their studies. However, I was also made aware of some of its limitations, such as the lack of support for more complicated expressions including square roots and symbolic quantities. I hope to address these limitations in the future.