Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!snorkelwacker!bloom-beacon!farhi
From: farhi@athena.mit.edu (Bill Hoston)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Maple
Message-ID: <1990Sep23.040730.18725@athena.mit.edu>
Date: 23 Sep 90 04:07:30 GMT
Sender: daemon@athena.mit.edu (Mr Background)
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Lines: 37

Sorry if this has been seen.  I have had trouble posting it.


Every now and then someone requests information or a review of Maple,
a symbolic manipulation package that is available for the Amiga.
Despite all my best intentions to write a review of some kind, I have
yet to do so.  For those who would like information on the package,
look at the September issue of the Notices of the American
Mathematical Society.  On page 861 an article by Barry Simon (Caltech
mathematical physicist) compares Derive, Macsyma, Maple and
Mathematica on IBM platforms.  This is a follow-up to his review in
the May issue of PC Magazine.  It includes the problems he used to test the
systems, the methods used to solve the problems and timings.  The
versions tested were those available around January (note the version
of Maple tested is the one presently available for the Amiga, v4.2).
This is an excellent introduction to the use of Maple and some of its
many features. 

I feel I should point out one of the features of Maple that is not
often mentioned.  All of the routines that Maple uses are coded in its
internal language (the one the user uses to create his/her own
functions) and the source to all of these is included with the
distribution.  This makes it very easy to modify code to meet specific
needs.  (This also explains why 10M of hard-drive space is
recommended.  Only 1M of ram is required.  Of course, the more you have the
better.)


-- 
	Bill Hoston
	farhi@athena.mit.edu



--
	Bill Hoston
	farhi@athena.mit.edu