MathLink Questions
- To: mathgroup at yoda.physics.unc.edu
- Subject: MathLink Questions
- From: Steven M. Christensen <stevec at yoda.physics.unc.edu>
- Date: Sun, 25 Jul 93 23:10:27 EDT
Colleagues: I would like to poll the MathGroup and others about the uses or potential uses of MathLink. If you have some time, please send me some comments on the following questions. I hope to use the information obtained in encouraging more MathLink development and making sure it is going in the directions most needed by Mathematica users. Please give as many examples of programs/applications - and the type of computers you want them to work on - as you can. I am interested in commercial and public domain programs as well as any you might have developed or would like to see developed. Questions: 1) MathLink can be used to call external programs from within Mathematica. What programs would you like to see linked to Mathematica in this way? (For example, connecting external Fortran libraries, SQL databases, or data acquisition hardware to Mathematica functions.) 2) MathLink can be used to call Mathematica functions from external programs. (For example, a spreadsheet program might use Mathematica functions or packages in its cells. A CAD package or photorealistic renderer might use Mathematica as a geometric modeler.) 3) MathLink can be used to run multiple linked copies of Mathematica simultaneously on the same machine or on a number of machines over a network. What applications of this sort of setup would you like to develop or see developed? 4) What languages do you use to write programs? 5) Have you used MathLink? If yes, what have you done? Can you provide your application for examination? If you have any other constructive comments or ideas, please add them. I would appreciate receiving your ideas as soon as possible. Thanks. Steve Christensen stevec at yoda.physics.unc.edu