+1, must also mention oct2py, the Python to GNU Octave bridge, that runs m-files from python. Some matlab legacy m-files may be rescued in this way.
Sage and IPython are alternatives, too. http://www.sagemath.org/ http://ipython.org/
Sage and IPython are alternatives, too. http://www.sagemath.org/ http://ipython.org/
http://www.gnu.org/software/octave/