Using a Notebook Interface
If you use your computer via a purely graphical interface, you will typically double-click the
Mathematica icon to start
Mathematica. If you use your computer via a textually based operating system, you will typically type the command
mathematica to start
Mathematica.
| use an icon or the Start menu | graphical ways to start Mathematica |
| mathematica | the shell command to start Mathematica |
| text ending with Shift+Enter | input for Mathematica (Shift+Return on some keyboards) |
| choose the menu item | exiting Mathematica ( on some systems) |
Running Mathematica with a notebook interface.
In a "notebook" interface, you interact with
Mathematica by creating interactive documents.
The notebook front end includes many menus and graphical tools for creating and reading notebook documents and for sending and receiving material from the
Mathematica kernel.
A notebook mixing text, graphics and Mathematica input and output. |
When
Mathematica starts up, it usually gives you a blank notebook. You can start typing right away.
Mathematica by default will interpret your text as input. You enter
Mathematica input into the notebook, then type
Shift+Enter to make
Mathematica process your input. (To type
Shift+Enter, hold down the
Shift key, then press
Enter.) You can use the standard editing features of your graphical interface to prepare your input, which may go on for several lines.
Shift+Enter tells
Mathematica that you have finished your input. If your keyboard has a numeric keypad, you can use its
Enter key instead of
Shift+Enter.
After you send
Mathematica input from your notebook,
Mathematica will label your input with
In[n]:=. It labels the corresponding output
Out[n]=. Labels are added automatically.
You type 2+2, then end your input with Shift+Enter. Mathematica processes the input, then adds the input label In[1]:=, and gives the output. |
The output is placed below the input. By default, input/output pairs are grouped using rectangular cell brackets displayed in the right margin.
In
Mathematica documentation, "dialogs" with
Mathematica are shown in the following way:
With a notebook interface, you just type in 2+2. Mathematica then adds the label In[1]:=, and prints the result.
| Out[1]= |  |
|
You should realize that notebooks are part of the "front end" to
Mathematica. The
Mathematica kernel which actually performs computations may be run either on the same computer as the front end, or on another computer connected via a network. Sometimes, the kernel is not even started until you actually do a calculation with
Mathematica.
The built-in
Mathematica Documentation Center (), where you might be reading this documentation, is itself an example of a
Mathematica notebook. You can evaluate and modify examples in place, or type your own examples.
In addition to the standard textual input,
Mathematica supports the use of generalized, non-textual input such as graphics and user interface controls, freely mixed with textual input.
To exit
Mathematica, you typically choose the menu item in the notebook interface.
