Using OpenBLAS for Octave.app

[Andrew Janke]

Hi, Octave maintainers,

Currently, Octave.app (the "native" Mac app distribution of GNU Octave 
that Sebastian and I run, http://octave-app.org/) uses Apple Accelerate 
for its BLAS and LAPACK implementations. This is mostly because 
Octave.app is built on Homebrew, and Homebrew prefers to use Apple 
system-provided libraries wherever feasible.

We're thinking of switching over to use OpenBLAS instead. 
(https://github.com/octave-app/octave-app/issues/118) My thinking is this:

Advantages to using OpenBLAS:

1. Academic and scientific audiences may prefer OpenBLAS, since the 
ethos of reproducible research demands open software throughout the stack.
2. Would make Octave behavior more consistent between platforms, since 
Linux and Windows Octave users are already using OpenBLAS, and this 
would make our Mac Octave match their behavior
  a. Would help with testing, since now the Linux/Windows and Mac 
native app Octave user bases would be using & testing the same 
underlying library.
  b. Would fix a couple annoying test failures on Mac.

Advantages to using Accelerate:

1. Somewhat simpler build process
2. Consistent with Homebrew, which is a big install base
3. ???

I think the arguments for OpenBLAS here really outweigh the arguments 
for Accelerate. (And maybe we could even talk core Homebrew into 
switching over.)

Do any of y'all have opinions on this? Especially from someone who 
actually knows about BLAS and scientific/research programming?

Is there an official core Octave position on which BLAS 
implementation(s) are preferred for use with Octave?

Cheers,
Andrew