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Re: Range of Use of Mathematica
Murray Eisenberg wrote:
> And this is one more place where well-conceived and well-executed
> introductory BOOKS about Mathematica 6, or applying Mathematatica 6 to
> specific subject areas, can help.
>
> So far, and so far as I am aware, we have only one instance of this:
> (1) Lynch's "Dynamical Systems with Applications using Mathematica", and
> (2) the additional Mathematica 6 notebooks to accompany Shaw's "Complex
> Analysis with Mathematica".
>
> Now if some of the old pre-version 6 books were updated or, preferably
> perhaps, new ones written, e.g., on: calculus; differential equations;
> linear algebra; discrete math including combinatorics & graph theory.
> Even a new Glynn & Gray, "Beginner's Guide..."!
>
> My impression is that in (much) earlier Mathematica versions, WRI went
> out of its way to encourage and foster such 3rd party books (some of
> which were, in fact, written by or co-authored by insiders). Either
> this is not being done or, if it is, there's a considerable lag in such
> efforts seeing the light of day.
>
> I remain convinced that some of the early success of Mathematica was the
> existence of such books, beyond the intrinsic value of the software
> itself. And I continue to hope that the seemingly print-averse,
> pro-electronic enthusiasts within WRI do not totally dominate the
> direction this takes.
>
I think a lot of us agree that there is a need for a physical book, but
we realise that if the book followed the old comprehensive style it
would become a huge multi-volume set!
I suggest that a new book could follow the old Mathematica book style,
but would make no attempt to be comprehensive. For example, where a
section should logically refer to additional functions, these could be
simply listed under "See also".
A particularly specialised area - such as J/Link - could be summarised
with the emphasis on the sort of problem it might address, and be
followed by a few hyperlinks (which don't work from books, but you know
what I mean).
The aim would be to supply the in-depth overview of Mathematica, but use
the fact that every reader would have the help system available as well.
In particular, every logical omission would be covered by a "See also" link.
David Bailey
http://www.dbaileyconsultancy.co.uk
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