Three-ay Hands-On Mathematica Workshop at MIT
- To: mathgroup at yoda.physics.unc.edu
- Subject: Three-ay Hands-On Mathematica Workshop at MIT
- From: nb at sunburn.stanford.edu
- Date: Wed, 22 Jan 92 00:29:25 PST
Mathematica: A Practical Approach
A Three-Day Hands-On Workshop
at MIT
on January 28 - 30, 1992
I am pleased to tell you about my offering a hands-on workshop in
Mathematica on January 28 - 30, 1992 at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
This workshop offers a comprehensive introduction to Mathematica. It
focuses on how to use Mathematica by showing useful constructs and
functions. At the end of each lecture, students will be assigned
problems designed to reinforce the material presented.
This course should be of interest to most Mathematica users regardless
of the version of the software they are using. I will mention
differences between versions. Though this course will be taught using
Macintoshes and version 2.0 of Mathematica, I will discuss general
techniques.
This course is divided into two parts. The first discusses how to use
Mathematica interactively and the second focuses on programming.
The course starts by showing how to find commands you need, understand
what they do, and use them effectively. Then you will learn to use
Mathematica to perform such tasks as manipulating expressions, finding
roots, solving differential equations, and visualizing functions and
data.
The second part of the course teaches you how to write functions and
packages. I describe the constructs frequently used when writing
functions. Then I show you to write your own functions, and discuss
both procedural and rule-based techniques for programming. I describe
mechanisms for importing, exporting and formatting data and expressions.
I will also discuss traps, pitfalls, and debugging techniques. The final
lecture will focus on how to write a Mathematica package.
Topics covered in this course include:
Part I: Introduction to Mathematica (January 28)
1. Getting Started
2. Numerical Capabilities
3. Algebraic and Symbolic Capabilities
4. Graphics
5. Getting Around with Mathematica
Part II: Programming (January 29 - 30)
6. List Manipulation
7. Assignments and Rules
8. Data Types
9. Writing Functions
10. Local Variables and Procedural Programming
11. Pattern Matching
12. Anonymous (Pure) Functions
13. Traps, Pitfalls, and Debugging
14. Input and Output (importing and exporting data)
15. Packages
I will also mention where else you can turn for help with Mathematica,
including books, journals, electronic mailing lists, bulletin boards,
archives, and user groups.
Feel free to bring in problems or questions pertaining to Mathematica.
You are welcome to work on your own problems during the hands-on
sessions.
Experience with Mathematica will not be assumed. Though this course is
intended for new users, it will contain information of interest to
those with more experience with the program.
All participants receive a copy of Nancy Blachman's 384-page book
"Mathematica: A Practical Approach" (Prentice-Hall). This book was
used to teach an undergraduate course in Mathematica at Stanford
University. Participants will also receive a draft copy of the
"Mathematica Quick Reference, Version 2" (Variable Symbols, Inc.,
February 1992), a handy guide that describes all the functions,
options, symbols, and special forms in Mathematica.
Dates: January 28 - 30, 1992
Place: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA
Text: "Mathematica: A Practical Approach" (Prentice-Hall) by Nancy Blachman
Cost: $750 per student (discounts available for academic institutions)
Maximum enrollment: 18 people
About the instructor: Nancy Blachman is currently a lecturer at
Stanford University, and president of Variable Symbols, a company
dedicated to helping people become proficient with Mathematica and
other mathematical software. She has been teaching workshops and
courses on Mathematica for the past two years. She is the author
of the tutorial book "Mathematica: A Practical Approach"
(Prentice-Hall) and of the "Mathematica Quick Reference Guide"
(Variable Symbols, 1990). She also co-developed the "Mathematica
Help Stack" with Robert Campbell and Eran Yehudai. Before founding
Variable Symbols, Nancy worked for Wolfram Research (the developer of
Mathematica), RIACS at NASA Ames, Resonex, and Bell Laboratories. She
holds a B.A. in mathematics at the University of Birmingham (UK), an
M.S. in operations research from the University of California at
Berkeley, and an M.S. in computer science from Stanford University.
For more information on the course, contact Connie Woods at
Variable Symbols, Inc.
2161 Shattuck Ave., Suite 202
Berkeley, CA 94704-1313
Fax: 510-843-8702 (or 415-843-8702)
Telephone: 510-843-8701 (or 415-843-8701)
To sign up for the course or to order a copy of the book "Mathematica:
A Practical Approach," fill in the following form.
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Variable Symbols, 2161 Shattuck Ave.,Suite 202, Berkeley, CA 94704-1313
Fax: +1 510 843-8702 Telephone: +1 510 843-8701
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__ 0 __ 1 __ 2 - 5 __ 6 - 10 __ 11 - 20 __ Over 20
__ Please sign me up for this workshop. My payment is enclosed.
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Description Price Quantity Total
"Mathematica: A Practical Approach" $30.00 ________ $_________
(Prentice-Hall) 384-page book
Subtotal $_________
California sales tax 8.25% ________ $_________
Postage and handling $ $_________
(North America $5, Pacific Rim $15,
Europe $10. For large orders,
additional postage will be charged.)
3-day hands-on workshop $750.00 ________ $_________
(Participants will receive a copy
of the book "Mathematica: A Practical
Approach" as well as the Mathematica
Quick Reference Guide for version 2.0)
TOTAL $_________
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Mail or fax to:
Variable Symbols, 2161 Shattuck Ave., Suite 202, Berkeley, CA 94704-1313
Fax: +1 415 843-8702 Telephone: +1 415 843-8701