Introduction to Maple

Scientific computing is the study of how to use computers effectively to solve problems that arise from the mathematical modeling of phenomena in science and engineering. It is based on mathematics, numerical and symbolic/algebraic computations and visualization.

Scientific computing is the study of how to use computers effectively to solve problems that arise from the mathematical modeling of phenomena in science and engineering. It is based on mathematics, numerical and symbolic/algebraic computations and visualization.

"Introduction to Computational Science" was developed over a period of two years at the University of Utah Department of Computer Science in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Energy-funded Undergraduate Computation in Engineering Science (UCES) program. Each chapter begins by introducing a problem and then guiding the student through its solution. The computational techniques needed to solve the problem are developed as necassary, making the motivation for learning the computing alwasy apparent. Each chapter will introduce a single problem that will be used to motivate a single computing concept. The notes currently consist of 15 chapters. The first seven chapters deal with Maple and the last eight with C. The textbook will contain 20 to 30 chapters covering a similar mix of concepts at a finer level of detail.

How to Use This Handbook The Maple Handbook is a complete reference tool for the Maple lan­ guage, and is written for all Maple users, regardless of their discipline or field(s) of interest. All the built-in mathematical, graphic, and system­ based commands available in Maple V Release 4 are detailed herein. Please note that The Maple Handbook does not teach the mathematics behind Maple commands. If you do not know the meaning of such concepts as definite integral, identity matrix, or prime integer, do not expect to learn them here. As well, while the introductory sections to each chapter taken together provide a basic overview of the capabil­ ities of Maple, it is highly recommended that you also read a more thorough tutorial such as Introduction to Maple by Andre Heck, or one of standard manuals shipped with Maple V Release 4. Overall Organization One of the main premises of The Maple Handbook is that most Maple users approach the system to solve a particular problem (or set of prob­ lems) in a specific subject area. Therefore, all commands are organized in logical subsets that reflect these different categories, e.g., calculus, algebra, data manipulation, etc.; the commands within a subset are ex­ plained in a similar language, creating a tool that allows you quick and confident access to the information necessary to complete the problem you have brought to the system.

Thirty years ago mathematical, as opposed to applied numerical, computation was difficult to perform and so relatively little used. Three threads changed that: the emergence of the personal computer; the discovery of fiber-optics and the consequent development of the modern internet; and the building of the Three “M’s” Maple, Mathematica and Matlab.