Re: Lists: Row Vectors vs. Column Vectors. (feels like such a silly
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg110523] Re: Lists: Row Vectors vs. Column Vectors. (feels like such a silly
- From: Bill Rowe <readnews at sbcglobal.net>
- Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2010 01:52:35 -0400 (EDT)
On 6/22/10 at 6:59 AM, rgorka at gmail.com (telefunkenvf14) wrote: >2. I'm still absolutely right about one thing: Mathematica needs to >have a consistent way to programmatically create a matrix----that >both *looks* like a matrix in StandardForm and *behaves* like one. >What I mean is: On screen formatting and behavior just like >Insert->Table/Matrix If you allow for output to be displayed in TraditionalForm rather than StandardForm, then Mathematica currently has the ability to do exactly what you have described above. Note, it is TraditionalForm not StandardForm that is designed display in the way you would see it in text books. StandardForm is a Mathematica standard designed to ensure unambiguous display. The problem with TraditionalForm is an expression such as f(x+y). Depending on context, this could be interpreted as the variable f times the sum of x and y or a function f of the sum of x and y. StandardForm avoids this ambiguity. Both the menu item and input palette work fine with the display of input cells set to StandardForm and generate a template that looks like a matrix. However, I direct input of matrices quicker by entering the appropriate braces from the keyboard rather than selecting a menu item or a palette item with a mouse then entering a matrix. By setting the default input display style to StandardForm and the default output display style to TraditionalForm, I am able to easily enter stuff from the keyboard with a minimum of mouse usage and have a result that matches what you see in a text book. The only issue I've seen with this arrangement is occasional issues when doing a copy/paste operation from an output cell to a new input cell. But since these issues are reasonably infrequent and I seldom need to perform such a copy/paste operation, the additional effort needed to work around these issues are not significant to me. And if you set your default output display to TraditionalForm, you will find you no longer have any need for MatrixForm.