gap-system/gap

Health v2 · maintenance only

Adoption not part of the score

1015 stars · 189 forks observed · 2026-10-15

What it is AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, 2026-09-07, confidence 0.97

GAP (Groups, Algorithms, Programming) is a computer algebra system for computational discrete algebra, with particular emphasis on computational group theory. It combines its own programming language and interpreter with a large library of algebraic algorithms and extensive data libraries of algebraic objects such as groups, rings, vector spaces, and combinatorial structures.

Use cases

• compute the structure and properties of finite groups
• calculate character tables and study group representations
• experiment with permutation groups and matrix groups
• explore rings, vector spaces, algebras, and combinatorial structures computationally
• test conjectures in abstract algebra before attempting proofs
• support teaching of abstract algebra and discrete mathematics with computational examples
• script custom algebraic algorithms in a purpose-built language

When to choose

• you need the reference system for computational group theory, from permutation groups to representation theory
• you want a programmable, extensible CAS with a large ecosystem of algebraic packages and data libraries
• you work in discrete algebra research or teaching and need reproducible computations with algebraic objects
• you want free, open-source software whose source you can inspect, modify, and extend

When to avoid

• you need general numerical computing, statistics, or data analysis - tools like SciPy or R fit better
• you mainly need symbolic calculus such as integration or equation solving - a general CAS like SymPy is a better fit
• you require a polished graphical notebook interface - GAP is used interactively via a terminal REPL
• your focus is number-theoretic computations with heavy arbitrary-precision arithmetic - PARI/GP may serve you better

Facets

application · maturity stable

math interpreter programming-language cli mathematics education programming-languages windows cross-platform cli group-theory computer-algebra discrete-mathematics representation-theory algebra repl scientific-computing cas computational-algebra algorithms linux macos desktop

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markdown · JSON · MCP: product_card(name="gap-system/gap")