What Is Mathematica?
Mathematica TE is a general computer software system and language intended for mathematical and other applications.
You can use Mathematica TE as:
A numerical and symbolic calculator where you type in questions, and Mathematica TE prints out answers.
A visualization system for functions and data.
A high-level programming language in which you can create programs, large and small.
A modeling and data analysis environment.
A way to create interactive documents that mix text, animated graphics and sound with active formulas.
Mathematical computations can be divided into three main classes: numerical, symbolic and graphical. Mathematica TE handles these three classes in a unified way.
Mathematica TE uses symbolic expressions to provide a very general representation of mathematical and other structures. The generality of symbolic expressions allows Mathematica TE to cover a wide variety of applications with a fairly small number of methods from mathematics and computer science.
The simplest way to use Mathematica TE is like a calculator. You type in a calculation, and Mathematica TE prints back the answer. The range of calculations that you can do with Mathematica TE is however far greater than with a traditional electronic calculator, or, for that matter, with a traditional programming language such as Fortran or BASIC. Thus, for example, while a traditional system might support perhaps 30 mathematical operations, Mathematica TE has over 800 built in. In addition, while traditional systems handle only numerical computations, Mathematica TE also handles symbolic and graphical computations.
Here are some simple examples. Each one consists of a short "dialog" with Mathematica TE. The text on the lines labeled In[n]:= is what you type in; the lines labeled Out[n]= are what Mathematica TE prints back. The "Tour of Mathematica TE" in Section 4.1 gives more examples.
