Text-Based Interfaces
| math | the operating system command to start Mathematica |
| text ending with Enter | input for Mathematica |
| Ctrl+D or Quit[] | exiting Mathematica |
Running Mathematica with a text-based interface.
With a text-based interface, you interact with your computer primarily by typing text on the keyboard.
To start
Mathematica with a text-based interface, you typically type the command
math at an operating system prompt. On some systems, you may also be able to start
Mathematica with a text-based interface by double-clicking a
Mathematica kernel icon.
When
Mathematica has started, it will print the prompt
In[1]:=, signifying that it is ready for your input. You can then type your input, ending with
Enter or
Return.
Mathematica will then process the input, and generate a result. If it prints the result out, it will label it with
Out[1]=.
In
Mathematica reference documents, dialogs with
Mathematica are shown in the following way:
The computer prints In[1]:=. You just type in 2+2. The line that starts with Out[1]= is the result from Mathematica.
| Out[1]= |  |
|
Note that you do not explicitly type the
In[n]:= prompt; only type the text that follows this prompt.
Note also that most of the actual dialogs given in the
Mathematica tutorials show output in the form you get with a notebook interface to
Mathematica; output with a text-based interface looks similar, but lacks such features as special characters and font size changes.
"
Using the Mathematica System" gives more details on running
Mathematica with a text-based interface. To exit
Mathematica, either type
Ctrl+D,
Ctrl+Z or
Quit[] at an input prompt.
