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Re: Does Mathematica really need more printed, introductory documentation?

  • To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
  • Subject: [mg88279] Re: Does Mathematica really need more printed, introductory documentation?
  • From: AES <siegman at stanford.edu>
  • Date: Wed, 30 Apr 2008 04:26:14 -0400 (EDT)
  • Organization: Stanford University
  • References: <fv6uoq$rpc$1@smc.vnet.net>

In article <fv6uoq$rpc$1 at smc.vnet.net>,
 Bill Rowe <readnews at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> Given it has only been a few months since Mathematica 6 was
> released and the time it takes to write any text and get it
> published it should not be surprising there are not any third
> party books on Mathematica yet. But given the number of books
> published for previous versions, it seems certain there will be
> books for version 6 in due time.

Bill, it's been for all practical purposes a _year_ now since 
Mathematica 6 was released.  

[Cf., e.g., a sizable story about it in Scientific Computing World dated 
May 30, 2007:  
<http://www.scientific-computing.com/products/review_details.php?review_i
d=17>]

And though I don't have a cite at hand, I'm sure I've read about how 
major software companies, when they have a major emerging project or 
upgrade under development, will invite a selected author or authors with 
a good track record to come into their company and give them substantial 
access to advance knowledge about the developing product --- with 
appropriate nondisclosure agreements of course --- just so their book or 
manual can appear on the shelves at the same instant the product is 
released.

A software company may do this because they don't want to divert 
in-house resources from product development to preparing an book for the 
emerging product or upgrade --- or they may do this even though they're 
developing their own manual also, on the grounds that "the more, the 
better" so far as manuals go; they're in the software business, not the 
manual business.

To be frank I just cannot imagine Wolfram Research not having done the 
same.


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