Getting Started with Mathematica

by Chi Keung Cheung

Mathematica is computer software that performs abstract computation as well as numerical computation. It can produce graphics ranging from graphs of functions in the plane to intricate, three-dimensional plots of surfaces and parametric curves. It also provides support for programming. This guide gives a stream-lined, but fairly extensive introduction to Mathematica. It primarily covers Mathematica 5.0, although references to earlier versions are included in cases where significant changes have been made. Each of the Guide's 28 Chapters has been structured around an area of undergraduate mathematics (e.g., one-variable differential Calculus, multiple integration, differential equations, linear algebra). Each chapter defines relevant commands used in that area, addresses their syntax, and provides basic examples. Each chapter ends with one or more sections which include more technical examples, offer useful tips, and diagnose common problems that users are likely to encounter. Two appendices are also included that explain how to work in the Mathematica notebook environment and use certain input features.

231 pages, Paperback

First published June 18, 1998

Reviews

[Thomas Ray]

Getting Started with Mathematica, second edition 2005, 231pp. ISBN 0471478156, Dewey 510.285536 There is a 2009 third edition (224 + xiv pages, ISBN 978-0-470-45687-3, https://www2.bc.edu/gerard-keough/pub...). The authors' online documentation that was on their Boston College webpage as of Dec 2019, is gone as of June 2020.

Quick intro to many of Mathematica's abilities.

Much but not all of the syntax the book presents also works in the free online Wolfram Alpha, https://www.wolframalpha.com/

Examples are available for download at
https://www2.bc.edu/gerard-keough/pub...

SEE ALSO THIS ONLINE DOCUMENTATION:
https://www.wolfram.com/language/elem...

and the 2017 An Elementary Introduction to the Wolfram Language: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Second edition:

Chapter 26 is "Writing Mathematica Programs:" pp. 187-198. Do, For, While, Module, writing to and reading from a file.

On page 28 (Chapter 5, Working with Equations), tells us Mathematica cannot solve x + Sin[x] = Cos[x]. That's no longer true.