A major advantage of Asymptote over other graphics packages is that it is a programming language, as opposed to just a graphics program.

Features:

• provides a portable standard for typesetting mathematical figures, just as TeX/LaTeX has become the standard for typesetting equations.
• inspired by MetaPost, with a much cleaner, powerful C++-like programming syntax and floating-point numerics;
• runs on all major platforms (UNIX, MacOS, Microsoft Windows).
• mathematically oriented (e.g. rotation of vectors by complex multiplication);
• LaTeX typesetting of labels (for document consistency);
• uses simplex method and deferred drawing to solve overall size constraint issues between fixed-sized objects (labels and arrowheads) and objects that should scale with figure size;
• fully generalizes MetaPost path construction algorithms to three-dimensions;
• compiles commands into virtual machine code for speed without sacrificing portability;
• high-level graphics commands are implemented in the Asymptote language itself, allowing them to be easily tailored to specific applications;