Computer Algebra Systems
Edmund A. Lamagna · 2019
This chapter provides an overview of the capabilities of computer algebra systems. Maple is an interactive system for symbolic mathematical computation. Development began in 1980 at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. The mathematical library, written in Maple itself, provides most of the mathematical functionality. Library functions are loaded automatically as required so memory requirements are kept as small as possible, growing at a rate that depends on the user’s application. Mathematica is an integrated environment for scientific, mathematical, and technical computation. The system provides symbolic and numeric computation, graphics, and a sophisticated notebook environment for producing technical documents with typeset quality mathematics. Mathematica uses the convention that the names of built-in functions, including the standard mathematical functions, begin with a capital letter. Mathematica offers a rich and sophisticated programming environment for users to create functions that perform complex computations.