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Re: Which of Maeder's Mma Programming Books?

  • To: mathgroup at christensen.cybernetics.net
  • Subject: [mg1273] Re: [mg1251] Which of Maeder's Mma Programming Books?
  • From: sparrow at helmholtz.psu.edu
  • Date: Wed, 31 May 1995 03:15:40 -0400

>Can anyone recommend which of Maeder's two books is a better investment 
>for someone wishing to learn to program Mma? What's the difference 
>between the two?
>
>1) Programming in Mathematica (Second Edition, 1991), 279 pages
>2) The Mathematica Programmer (1994), 199 pages
>
>Is 2) a revamped/updated version, thus obsoleting 1)?
>
>Dale

Short answer:  2) is not a revamped/updated version.  2) is a different
kind of book, explaining "paradigms of programming" and "applications".
It would seem appropriate as a textbook for a short university course
in programming methodologies - - - of course all is done in mathematica.
1) is an indispensible book explaining good methods for programming in
mathematica, especially the development of packages.

If you want to program in mathematica, get 1).  I have also found
Show and Tigg's "Applied Mathematica" very good, as well as Smith and
Blachman's "MMA Graphics Guidebook".  These are my three favorites.
I have not seen TW-Jones's recent volume.

If you want to take a CS course in programming methodologies, get 2).
It is also a good book.

Vic Sparrow
Assistant Professor of Acoustics
Penn State
 


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