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Re: In Version 8, Combinatorial&GraphTheory functions

  • To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
  • Subject: [mg120702] Re: In Version 8, Combinatorial&GraphTheory functions
  • From: Murray Eisenberg <murray at math.umass.edu>
  • Date: Thu, 4 Aug 2011 02:53:27 -0400 (EDT)
  • Delivered-to: l-mathgroup@mail-archive0.wolfram.com
  • References: <201108032321.TAA16535@smc.vnet.net>
  • Reply-to: murray at math.umass.edu

Are you talking about Combinatorica (rather than Symbolica)?

The Combinatorica add-on package that is shipped with Mathematica is 
very well documented by Pemmaraju & Skiena in their book "Computational 
Discrete Mathematica: Combinatorics and Graph Theory with Mathematica". 
In fact, Combinatorica was originally a separate add-on by Steven Skiena 
and was subsequently incorporated as a "standard" add-on to Mathematica 
by Wolfram Research.

However, the functionality documented there is definitely NOT the 
current suite of kernel functions such as GraphPlot (present since 
Mathematica 6) and Graph (new in 8).

These newer functions, unfortunately, do NOT provide the same 
functionality as the older Combinatorica package.

I really do believe that what WRI has done in bring the 
graph-theoretical stuff from an add-on into the kernel is still quite 
half-baked and utterly incomplete as contrasted with much that was and 
is available in Combinatorica.

I've been complaining about this since GraphPlot appeared in Mathematica 
6. Maybe some day WRI will complete the migration. But right now the 
state of handling graphs is quite unsatisfactory.


On 8/3/11 7:21 PM, Ralph Dratman wrote:
> Since the documentation for Symbolica is said to be best encountered
> in the form of a relatively expensive, out-of-print book, I'd like to
> know if that book will be compatible with the new built-in (but
> limited) functionality.
>
> If the book will not be compatible, will there be more Symbolica
> functions, and more matching documentation (!), added to Mathematica
> over time?
>
> Thank you.
>
> Ralph Dratman
>

-- 
Murray Eisenberg                     murray at math.umass.edu
Mathematics & Statistics Dept.
Lederle Graduate Research Tower      phone 413 549-1020 (H)
University of Massachusetts                413 545-2859 (W)
710 North Pleasant Street            fax   413 545-1801
Amherst, MA 01003-9305




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