The Beginners Guide to MathematicaRG, Version 4 (Paperback)

~ (Author), Theodore Gray (Author) "Mathematica is a big program; fortunately computers are bigger..." (more)
Key Phrases: subsession mode, cell bracket containing, specified notebook, Can Mathematica, Wolfram Research, Basic Input (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The authors adopt a casual and humorous tone as they cover the fundamentals of installing and running the software on a computer and teach new users some important basics of the latest release." Mechanical Engineering Magazine

Product Description

This update of Glynn and Gray's hugely successful textbook covers not only the basic Mathematica features, but also the new features of Mathematica Version 4. The book teaches new Mathematica users some of the important basics of the latest release of this powerful software: using the typesetting features, programming palettes, defining functions, creating graphs and notebooks, and applying useful problem-solving techniques. Using their skills as Mathematica experts and teachers, Glynn and Gray provide a brisk but careful tutorial for the Mathematica novice. From the fundamentals of installing and running Mathematica on your computer to tips on how to get the most from the advanced programming features, the concise presentation provides indexes for both concepts and Mathematica function names. The authors' wry humor makes this book a delight to use for both beginning and advanced users alike. An invaluable tool for students and individual Mathematica users.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 442 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (September 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521777690
• ISBN-13: 978-0521777698
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,369,460 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for everyone who uses Mathematica, February 20, 2000

By	James Wyant (Tucson, AZ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Two years ago I swallowed my pride and I purchased an earlier version of this book, "The Beginners Guide to Mathematica, Version 3". I say I swallowed my pride because I had been using Mathematica since 1989 and I did not think I needed to buy a beginner's guide. However, I did buy the book and it was great. While I was not a beginner, the book taught me a lot of neat things that perhaps I should have known, but didn't. When I saw Version 4 of the book was available I purchased it immediately. It is great. Much of the material is a repeat of the material in Version 3, but there are new chapters covering subjects such as importing and exporting data, image processing, and real-time graphics. The book is clearly written and the authors' humor is delightful. Hopefully, the electronic version of the book will soon be available. I recommend the book to everyone who uses Mathematica.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I didn't think the book was that great, July 10, 2000

By A Customer

I am a beginning user of Mathematica. I was looking for a book to show me what to do after double clicking the Mathematica icon. This book is a hodge podge of neat things you can do with Mathematica (ie, image processing), but it was not very meaningful to me. I wanted my money back when I discovered what was inside.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Most I ever spent on an advertisement, September 29, 2000

By	Chris` (NYC, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Beginners Guide to MathematicaRG, Version 4 (Hardcover)

Apparantly the real "book" is in electronic copy. The printed version is missing important sections and all the coding. There is no reference to this on the cover, the back or in the Preface. It's only in chapter 2 where they first elude to the electronic version, and chapter 4 where they tell you you have to buy it! Later on, you realize that the printed book isn't even complete (nevermind that 50 pages were included twice in my copy, giving it a false appearance of size).

The content is OK. Some good tips. I still didn't really know how to do what I needed, but I was a lot closer having read the book. Mostly I just felled cheated.

ps. The best chapters are the rants on educational theory and are really independent of Mathematica!