An Introduction to Programming with Mathematica, Third Edition

Book Description

An Introduction to Programming with MathematicaÂ® is designed to introduce the Mathematica programming language to a wide audience. Since the last edition of this book was published, significant changes have occurred in Mathematica and its use worldwide. Keeping pace with these changes, this substantially larger, updated version includes new and revised chapters on numerics, procedural, rule-based, and front-end programming, and gives significant coverage to the latest features up to, and including, Mathematica 5.1 Mathematica notebooks, available from www.cambridge.org/0521846781, contain examples, programs, and solutions to exercises in the book. Additionally, material to supplement later versions of the software will be made available. This is the ideal text for all scientific students, researchers, and programmers wishing to deepen their understanding of Mathematica, or even those keen to program using an interactive language that contains programming paradigms from all major programming languages: procedural, functional, recursive, rule-based, and object-oriented.

Customer Reviews:

Best book on basic programming with Mathematica.......2007-06-18

This is by far and away the best basic book for learning how to program with Mathematica. I spent 2 hours a day using the book for one month and I'm now quite comfortable with the software. If you are new to Mathematica, do yourself a favor and read this book.

Incredible, consistent text.......2007-04-25

This book is extremely useful to take a beginner through simple, well explained exercises. I can honestly say you will learn tremendous amounts about Mathematica.

If I could only have one book and needed to program Mathematica, this would be it. Hands down. I can only believe this book was intended as a book for a course. I feel the book is paced to allow any student to read the pages and work the very well thought out exercises.

If you are working on your own and learning Mathematica, do yourself a favor and buy this book. The only other book that I would get is the amazing reference "Mathematica Navigator". You won't learn how to program Mathematica from it. You will learn an amazing amount about how Mathematica works by reading it. If you don't believe me, check out it's thorough explanation of cubic splines. It's better than the Mathematica Help. It also comes with the complete book which can be installed in the Mathematica help system.

There are other books which are good. Between these two books, you will an amazing arsenal to work with!

Paul

Excellent. A must have........2006-06-03

As a mathematical hobbyist, I love Mathematica(TM). Also, I love the Lisp programming language. This book, at last, opened my eyes. Now, after some years, I finally can say what "programming Mathematica" is. If you really need to learn to programming in Mathematica, this book is for you. A big thanks to the Authors.

Omissions.......2006-05-22

Please note that the book does NOT cover Object Oriented programming as stated on this page in the description - in fact OO is not even in the index.

The 3rd Ed. is based on Mathematica 5.1.......2005-03-08

This book is an excellent introduction to Mathematica. It is based on Mathematica 5.1 and hence bring the 2nd Ed. based on Mathematica 2.2 up to date to the most recent version of this software package. The book covers all aspects of programming functionalities available in Mathematica: procedural, functional, recursive, rule-based, and object-oriented. There are ample examples in science and mathematics as well as devising one's own software packages. The emphasis of the book is on the fundamental programming concepts. While there are examples of complete packages that solve specific problems more emphasis in this direction would even further strengthen the book.

Mastering Mathematica, Second Edition: Programming Methods and Applications

Average customer rating:

A Review for Programmers, by a Programmer

Mastering Mathematica, Second Edition: Programming Methods and Applications
John W. Gray
Manufacturer: Academic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0122961056

Book Description

This new edition of Mastering Mathematica focuses on using Mathematica as a programming language, because programming in Mathematica is the best way to use the software to its fullest capacity. The book covers functional programming, imperative programming, rewrite programming, and object-oriented programming. It also addresses the use of Mathematica as a symbolic manipulator and a general tool for knowledge representation.

* Focus on four different types of programming styles with Mathematica: functional programming, rewrite (or rule-based) programmng, imperative (or procedural) programming, and object-oriented programming, with many examples of each style
* Compatible with Mathematica 3.0 and its programming language
* Chapters on graphics programming show how to make the most of the considerable graphics capabilities of Mathematica
* Includes coverage of programming needed for creation of Mathematica packages that allow a user to extend the language as needed for particular uses
* Applications include:
* Polya pattern analysis
* Critical points of functions
* Object-oriented graph theory
* Minimal surfaces
* Mathematica-Enhanced CD-ROM Enclosed
* Complete text in active Mathematica Notebook files, enhanced for v3.0; Allows you to evaluate complex examples without retyping; Extensive use of the v3.0 math typesetting system
* Hyperlink index and table of contents
* Instant access to any chapter or topic
* Index is automatically merged with the main Mathematica help system forming a master index of all the user's Mathematica related information; Quickly see listings on a given topic from The Mathematica Book, Mastering Mathematica, the Guide to Standard Packages, or any other Help Browswer aware books you have installed

Customer Reviews:

A Review for Programmers, by a Programmer.......1999-07-25

7.24.99 SJW *****

This is something of a book review, but also a commentary on the Mathematica package. My background is a recent MS in Computer Science. My interest in Mathematica is as a thinking tool for Programmer/Analysts or R&D Prototypers.

John Gray's book comes with a CD-ROM including the entire text of the book (the book was produced using Mathematica) as well as help files which can easily be integrated into the resources of the Mathematica Help Browser.

The book is well laid out (see the Table of Contents at amazon.com) topically, starting with very basic usage of the math abilities, and the user interface, then moving on to programming styles using Mathematica and methods of representing information in Mathematica. (All major commands in the Mathematica package are searchable, topical resources are available via documentation chapters on that topic, and explanatory text is hyperlinked in html format.)

The book's style is absolutely functional, and is targeted at users who have at least a threshhold knowledge of modern programming. Much of the material somewhat assumes that the reader has read enough using the Help Browswer with its on-line manual to be able to operate the notebook interface. Examples are given for almost every topic (the examples are executable in Mathematica, as the text of the book is in the form of a Mathematica notebook), although the specifics of each example are not necessarily explained.

As a programmer, the most amazing revelation of Gray's book is the degree to which the Mathematica package is programmable. Of course, procedural commands are built in to allow the coding of procedural algorithms (these commands have the form of generic pseudocode commands, or "near-C"). But Gray gives examples of programming using functions (recursion is allowed), as well as instructions re o-o and constraint (rule-based) styles of programming. (Note that Mathematica has built in pattern matching notations--especially useful for rule-based programming.)

In short, not only is Mathematica a completely integrated symbolic/numeric advanced math utility with integrated graphics and statistical packages, but it also has its own virtual operating system (full file i/o controls), and it allows the user to write rule-based programs (such as LISP or Prolog interpreters) which have full access to all of the built in Mathematica abilities, and to custom compiled components which the user has written.

Because all Mathematica's abilities are integrated, data can easily be displayed graphically, allowing visual debugging of difficult algorithms, or analysis (or reports). Gray provides a few examples of the visual display of algorithms.

Book Description

Increasingly, educators are turning to Mathematica for instructing students in science and mathematics. The growing popularity of this exciting software package creates a need for undergraduate students to be familiar with its many functions and uses. The Student's Introduction to Mathematica® neatly follows a standard mathematics curriculum, allowing students to practice what they learn. The text lucidly presents those aspects of the software that are the most useful to students. Mathematica commands are introduced as a means of solving problems and illuminating the underlying mathematical principles. Following a brief introduction to the program, Bruce and Eve Torrence discuss functions and graphs, algebra, calculus, and multivariate calculus, and finish with a chapter on linear algebra. No prerequisites other than high school level mathematics are assumed. This work can be used in a variety of courses, from precalculus, through single and multi-variable calculus, to linear algebra. In addition to its course use, this book is an excellent tutorial for those wishing to learn Mathematica and brush up on their mathematics at the same time. The volume is compatible with Mathematica version 3 and higher.

Customer Reviews:

A Great First Step.......2006-12-02

This book is designed to jump start the reader's experience with Mathematica. Since people learn best by example, reviewing "basic" math examples (Algebra, Calculus, and Linear Algebra) provides a "painless" introduction to the new environment. This book is not intended to be complete in any sense. But it WILL make you feel comfortable with the daunting new interface of Mathematica.

This is the only Mathematica book that I have finished. It was a great introduction, and I still use as a reference.

If you are thinking about buying Mathematica--DON'T get it without some introductory book. This one as a good start.

Multivariate Calculus and Mathematica: With Applications to Geometry and Physics

Average customer rating:

awful book

Multivariate Calculus and Mathematica: With Applications to Geometry and Physics
Kevin R. Coombes , Ronald L. Lipsman , and Jonathan M. Rosenberg
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0387983600

Book Description

One of the authors' stated goals for this publication is to "modernize" the course through the integration of Mathematica. Besides introducing students to the multivariable uses of Mathematica, and instructing them on how to use it as a tool in simplifying calculations, they also present intoductions to geometry, mathematical physics, and kinematics, topics of particular interest to engineering and physical science students. In using Mathematica as a tool, the authors take pains not to use it simply to define things as a whole bunch of new "gadgets" streamlined to the taste of the authors, but rather they exploit the tremendous resources built into the program. They also make it clear that Mathematica is not algorithms. At the same time, they clearly see the ways in which Mathematica can make things cleaner, clearer and simpler. The problem sets give students an opportunity to practice their newly learned skills, covering simple calculations with Mathematica, simple plots, a review of one-variable calculus using Mathematica for symbolic differentiation, integration and numberical integration. They also cover the practice of incorporating text and headings into a Mathematica notebook. A DOS-formatted diskette accompanies the printed work, containing both Mathematica 2.2 and 3.0 version notebooks, as well as sample examination problems for students. This supplementary work can be used with any standard multivariable calculus textbook. It is assumed that in most cases students will also have access to an introductory primer for Mathematica.

Customer Reviews:

awful book.......2005-03-30

This is one of the worst technical books I have ever read. It seems like something cobbled together. It teaches very little vector calculus or mathematica.

Programming in Mathematica (3rd Edition)

Average customer rating:

a perfect example of "literate programming"

Programming in Mathematica (3rd Edition)
Roman Maeder
Manufacturer: Addison-Wesley Professional
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 020185449X

Book Description

This revised and expanded edition of the standard reference on programming in Mathematica addresses all the new features in the latest Version 3 of the software. The support for developing larger applications has been improved, and the book now discusses the software engineering issues related to writing and using larger programs in Mathematica. As before, Roman Maeder, one of the original authors of the Mathematica system, explains how to take advantage of its powerful built-in programming language.

Customer Reviews:

a perfect example of "literate programming".......2004-10-26

I read 2nd edition of the book. "Programming in Mathematica" (PIM) is certainly a classic work (in programming style) for writing Mathematica packages. I also think it as a perfect example of literate programming in Mathematica, if you are trying literate programming in Mathematica.

The literate programming style encourages writing explanation explicitly with the computer code so that both get pretty-printed and become human friendly. PIM is exactly such a perfect example. Nearly each Mathematica code piece in the book was clearly and elegantly explained.

I noticed that Silvio Levy commented at the back of 3rd Edition of PIM. Silvio Levy is one of the creators of CWEB, a literate programming tool for C language. Wondering if this book also satisfies his taste of literate programming.

MathLink: Network Programming with Mathematica

Average customer rating:

Good introduction

MathLink: Network Programming with Mathematica

Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Mastering Mathematica, Second Edition: Programming Methods and Applications

ASIN: 0521645980

Book Description

This book introduces the basic concepts of MathLink and explains how to extend Mathematica using MathLink. Miyaji and Abbott show how to write Mathlink programs and how to apply Mathlink in a variety of situations. MathLink comprises a simple and powerful way to write programs that communicate with Mathematica and offers access to a wide range of network resources. Writing network programs is the most demanded skill in the Internet Age and MathLink provides a sophisticated level of network programming to the nonprogrammer, scientist, engineer, and student. Mathematica's powerful "problem-oriented" programming language includes symbolic and numerical computation, and excellent graphics capabilities, which enables users to write compact and elegant programs that are much shorter than in conventional languages. Within MathLink one can write programs that communicate with Mathematica. Since most electronic devices are connected to, or controlled by, a computer, it is straightforward to interface them to Mathematica. Once your device is connected to Mathematica, you can manipulate the data within Mathematica. The authors examine in detail source code for a range of practical examples ranging from elementary to advanced, allowing readers to easily adapt the code to suit their own practical needs. The text assumes that the reader is already familiar with Mathematica.

Customer Reviews:

Good introduction.......2002-05-07

For those who know Mathematica well, and who also want
to call Mathematica programs either remotely or from
programs not written in Mathematica, this book is the
canonical reference; in fact the only one that I am
aware of other than the documentation that comes with
Mathematica. The material in tbe book goes far beyond
what can be found in the documentation however. As the
authors observe, writing programs from scratch using
the TCP/IP protocol can be formidable, and so MathLink
was invented to ease the process for those who do not
want to become expert in TCP/IP. Readers will also
have to have a working knowledge of the C programming
language.

The book covers the Windows. Macintosh, and
Unix platforms, with LINUX emphasized for the latter.
Since all three of these operating systems are covered
in the book, this makes navigation in it a little
annoying at times. It does expand on the actual
evaluation process when executing a Mathlink program,

and how Mathlink does type conversion. Latency issues
in the network will of course have to be dealt with in
using Mathlink. The authors devote a chapter of the
book in dealing with data transfer times across a
network. They are also wise enough to know that the
data transfer is best done with functions written in C
for situations that are time-intensive. Readers just
need to remember to call the Install function after
each change they make to the .c and .tm files, as this

fact is not emphasized by the authors.
A chapter is devoted to the debugging of
programs written in MathLink. The ability to debug
these programs is really because of the underlying C
code rather than Mathematica, for the latter does not
of course have a debugger. The authors also illustrate
real-time graphics with TurtleGraphics, which is based
on the graphics primitives of Logo. Although somewhat
antiquated, it was put in to allow simulations of
cellular automata that are done in the next chapter.
Transfer times in the performing of real-time graphics
are reduced by employing color tables. For those
working on MAC OS or Windows machines, a discussion of
the digitizing of movies is given using the QuickTime
movie player. These discussions of real-time graphics
are generalized to interactive graphics in the next
chapter. This discussion is particularly enlightening,
since it deals with how to implement object-oriented
programming in Mathematica. Interestingly, objects are
thought of as function names when sending messages to
them. This is an illustration of the classic "message-
passing" paradigm in object-oriented programming, with
the messages being send to objects as their function
arguments. The authors discuss the class method and
instance method; the latter being the collection of
definitions that make up the class. Single and
multiple inheritance, a very important feature of
object-oriented programming, are discussed, and the
authors show how to create an event-driven mechanism
using Mathlink. Most interestingly, they show how to
create a window object, and this leads to a detailed
discussion on how to write a real-time interactive
graphics system. The latter is not supported by the
Mathematica front-end, and so for readers interested
in creating these for purposes such as curve-fitting
to data, their discussion is very helpful.

In addition, for those involved in large-scale

Book Description

This book offers a new approach to introductory scientific computing. It aims to make students comfortable using computers to do science, to provide them with the computational tools and knowledge they need throughout their college careers and into their professional careers, and to show how all the pieces can work together. Rubin Landau introduces the requisite mathematics and computer science in the course of realistic problems, from energy use to the building of skyscrapers to projectile motion with drag. He is attentive to how each discipline uses its own language to describe the same concepts and how computations are concrete instances of the abstract.

Landau covers the basics of computation, numerical analysis, and programming from a computational science perspective. The first part of the printed book uses the problem-solving environment Maple as its context, with the same material covered on the accompanying CD as both Maple and Mathematica programs; the second part uses the compiled language Java, with equivalent materials in Fortran90 on the CD; and the final part presents an introduction to LaTeX replete with sample files.

Providing the essentials of computing, with practical examples, A First Course in Scientific Computing adheres to the principle that science and engineering students learn computation best while sitting in front of a computer, book in hand, in trial-and-error mode. Not only is it an invaluable learning text and an essential reference for students of mathematics, engineering, physics, and other sciences, but it is also a consummate model for future textbooks in computational science and engineering courses.

A broad spectrum of computing tools and examples that can be used throughout an academic career
Practical computing aimed at solving realistic problems
Both symbolic and numerical computations
A multidisciplinary approach: science + math + computer science
Maple and Java in the book itself; Mathematica, Fortran90, Maple and Java on the accompanying CD in an interactive workbook format

Professors: A supplementary Solutions Manual is available for this book. It is restricted to teachers using the text in courses. For information on how to obtain a copy, refer to: http://pup.princeton.edu/solutions.html

Customer Reviews:

unusual teaching of numerical analysis and symbolic algebra.......2005-08-06

Landau takes a refreshingly different approach to teaching students scientific computation. The field can be considered as two parts. One, the older and more heavily used, is about the "traditional" numerical analysis. You crunch numbers, and you get numbers out. The other approach is symbolic algebra.

Usually a text only deals with one type. Here, he teaches both. Plus, for each type, he offers the choice of two languages. For the numerical analysis, there is Fortran, version 90, and Java. While the symbolic algebra is performed using Mathematica or Maple. Ecumenical indeed!

These are excellent choices of languages. Fortran still dominates legacy numerical analysis, with massive libraries of subroutines that one has to work with or maintain. While Java lets the student learn good object oriented practices.

And Mathematica and Maple are perhaps the most common symbolic packages available.

Average customer rating:

Excellent. Teaches Mathematics as well as Mathematica.
Every page is gold

Mathematica In Action (DELETE)
S. Wagon
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0387986847

Book Description

"Mathematica in Action, 2nd Edition," is designed both as a guide to the extraordinary capabilities of Mathematica as well as a detailed tour of modern mathematics by one of its leading expositors, Stan Wagon. Ideal for teachers, researchers, mathematica enthusiasts. This second edition of the highly sucessful W.H. Freeman version includes an 8 page full color insert and 50% new material all organized around Elementary Topics, Intermediate Applications, and Advanced Projects. In addition, the book uses Mathematica 3.0 throughtout. Mathematica 3.0 notebooks with all the programs and examples discussed in the book are available on the TELOS web site (www.telospub.com). These notebooks contain materials suitable for DOS, Windows, Macintosh and Unix computers. Stan Wagon is well-known in the mathematics (and Mathematica) community as Associate Editor of the "American Mathematical Monthly," a columnist for the "Mathematical Intelligencer" and "Mathematica in Education and Research," author of "The Banach-Tarski Paradox" and "Unsolved Problems in Elementary Geometry and Number Theory (with Victor Klee), as well as winner of the 1987 Lester R. Ford Award for Expository Writing.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent. Teaches Mathematics as well as Mathematica........2002-09-07

Prof.Wagon shares his experience about the difficulties he encountered in ensuring the correctness of the algorithms.

The lessons he offers on the importance of careful thinking and meticulously checking the results of calculations is alone worth the price of the book.

The algorithms in the book require Mathematica 3. They seem to work well with Mathematica 4 as well.

The selection of topics is excellent. This book can provide a great start to a lot fun and learning with Mathematica.

I hope Prof.Wagon brings out a new expanded edition for the current edition of Mathematica soon.

Every page is gold.......2000-07-28

Pictures, programs, proofs and explanations makes this one of the best math books I've seen. For example, Chapter 9 (Penrose Tiles) has 9 pages. In those 9 pages are 25 different pictures, many quite beautiful. There are 3 different programs given which will recreate all of pictures. In the midst of this is a very clear discussion of nonperiodic tilings and Penrose tilings. That's just Chapter 9, there are 25 other chapters, and every one of them just as good. The programs are provided on a CD, so you can experiment with them yourself. More interesting material is at the author's webpage.

Partial Differential Equations & Mathematica

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Partial Differential Equations & Mathematica
KYTHE
Manufacturer: CRC-Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

This book provides an accessible treatment of this demanding subject. The authors integrate the use of Mathematica throughout the book rather than just providing a few sample problems at the end of chapters. Although rich in the theory for developing underlying mathematical analysis, the text emphasizes the development of methods. Partial Differential Equations and Mathematica provides basic concepts and methods for beginners as well as provides training and encouragement for those continuing their studies in the subject or in applied areas.

Elementary Numerical Computing With Mathematica (Mcgraw-Hill Computer Science Series)

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Elementary Numerical Computing With Mathematica (Mcgraw-Hill Computer Science Series)
Robert D. Skeel , and Jerry B. Keiper
Manufacturer: Mcgraw-Hill College
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0070578206

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