You probably know Mathematica
by name. Or you may be one of nearly two million users. But do you
really know the breadth of capabilities Mathematica can offer
you? Whatever you're working on--calculating, programming, learning,
documenting or developing--Mathematica is equipped to help.
Mathematica seamlessly integrates a numeric and symbolic
computational engine, graphics system, programming language, documentation
system, and advanced connectivity to other applications. It is this
range of capabilities--many world-leading in their own right--that
makes Mathematica uniquely capable as a "one-stop shop" for
you or your organization's technical work.
Wide Range of Uses
Handling complex symbolic calculations that often involve hundreds
of thousands or millions of terms
Loading, analyzing, and visualizing data
Solving equations, differential equations, and minimization
problems numerically or symbolically
Doing numerical modeling and simulations, ranging from simple
control systems to galaxy collisions, financial derivatives, complex
biological systems, chemical reactions, environmental impact studies,
and magnetic fields in particle accelerators
Facilitating rapid application development (RAD) for engineering
companies and financial institutions
Producing professional-quality, interactive technical reports
or papers for electronic or print distribution
Illustrating mathematical or scientific concepts for students
from K-12 to postgraduate levels
Typesetting technical information--for example, for U.S. patents
Giving technical presentations and seminars
Works at All Levels
Usually Mathematica
is used with its notebook interface directly as it comes out of the
box. However, it is increasingly being used through alternative interfaces
such as a web browser or by other systems as a back-end computational
engine.
Some of these uses require in-depth Mathematica knowledge,
while others do not. Mathematica is unusual in being operable
for less involved tasks as well as being the tool of choice for leading-edge
research, performing many of the world's most complex computations.
It is Mathematica's complete consistency in design at every
stage that gives it this multilevel capability and helps advanced
usage evolve naturally.
Fully Featured, Fully Integrated
At a superficial level, Mathematica is
an amazing, yet easy-to-use calculator. The world's most comprehensive
set of mathematical, scientific, engineering, and financial functions
is ready-to-use--often with just one mouse click or command. However,
Mathematica functions work for any size or precision of number,
compute with symbols, are easily represented graphically, automatically
switch algorithms to get the best answer, and even check and adjust
the accuracy of their own results. This sophistication means trustworthy
answers every time, even for those inexperienced with the mechanics
of a particular calculation.
While working through calculations, a notebook document keeps a
complete report: inputs, outputs, and graphics in an interactive
but typeset form. Adding text, headings, formulas from a textbook,
or even interface elements is straightforward, making online slide
show, web, XML, or printed presentation immediately available from
the original material. In fact, with notebook document technology,
a fully customized interface can easily be provided so that recipients
can interact with the content. The notebook is a fully featured,
fully integrated technical document-creation environment.
Easy Programming, Powerful Results
The move from immediate calculations
to programmed computations can occur evolutionarily. Just one line
makes a meaningful program in Mathematica--the methodology,
syntax, and documents used for input and output remaining as they
are for immediate calculations.
Mathematica is also a robust software development environment.
Mathematica packages can be debugged, encapsulated, and wrapped
in a custom user interface, all from within the Mathematica
system. Alternatively, Java, C, or links to a proprietary system
can use Mathematica's power behind the scenes.
One Unifying Idea
Symbolic programming is the underlying
technology that provides Mathematica this unmatched range of
abilities. It enables every type of object and every operation--be
they data, functions, graphics, programs, or even complete documents--to
be represented in a single, uniform way as a symbolic expression.
This unification has many practical benefits from ease of learning
to broadening the scope of applicability of each function. The raw
algorithmic power of Mathematica is magnified and its utility
extended.
