At present, there are four popular and famous mathematical softwares in the fields of science, technology and engineering, namely Maple, MATLAB, Mathematica and Mathematica. They all have different characteristics in their respective goals.
I. Maple V system
Maple V is a mathematical system software developed by the University of Waterloo. It not only has accurate numerical processing function, but also has unparalleled symbolic calculation function. The symbolic computing ability of Maple V is also the core of symbolic processing in software such as MathCAD and MATLAB. Maple provides more than 2000 kinds of mathematical functions, including general mathematics, advanced mathematics, linear algebra, number theory, discrete mathematics and graphics. It also provides a set of built-in programming language, users can develop their own applications, and more than 2000 functions of Maple are basically developed in this language.
Maple adopts the character line input method, which needs to be input in the specified format. Although it is different from the common mathematical format, it is flexible, convenient and easy to understand. You can select output in character mode and graphic mode, and the generated graphic results can be easily cut and pasted into Windows applications.
Second, the MATLAB system
MATLAB was originally an interface program used by matrix laboratory to provide Linpack and Eispack software packages in 1970s, and was written in C language. Since 1980s, DOS version 3.0 has gradually become a scientific and technological computing, view interaction system and programming language. MATLAB can run on more than ten operating platforms, and the common ones are systems based on Windows 9X/NT, OS/2, Macintosh, Sun, Unix and Linux.
MATLAB program is mainly composed of main program and various toolkits, in which the main program contains hundreds of internal core functions, including complex system simulation, signal processing toolkit, system identification toolkit, optimization toolkit, neural network toolkit, control system toolkit, μ analysis and synthesis toolkit, spline toolkit, symbolic mathematics toolkit, image processing toolkit, statistical toolkit and so on. Moreover, the 5.x version also contains a set of dozens of PDF files, which are introduced in detail from the introduction of MATLAB to other special applications.
MATLAB is the pioneer of numerical calculation. Based on matrix, it has become the first choice tool in linear algebra, mathematical statistics, automatic control, digital signal processing and dynamic system simulation. At the same time, it is also a powerful tool for researchers, college students and graduate students to carry out scientific research. MATLAB is also very convenient in input, and you can use an internal editor or any other character processor. At the same time, you can also combine Word6.0/7.0 to directly call most functions of MATLAB in the page of Word, so that Word has special computing power.
Third, MathCAD system
MathCAD is an interactive mathematical system software developed by Mathsoft Company of the United States. From the early version of 1.0 under DOS, the version of 4.0 under Windows to the version of 8.0 today, the function has also changed from simple numerical calculation to drawing lessons from Maple's powerful symbolic calculation ability, which has made a qualitative leap.
MathCAD is a software that integrates text editing, mathematical calculation, program editing and simulation. MathCAD7.0 Professional (Professional Edition) runs under Win9X/NT. Its main feature is that the input format is very similar to the mathematical writing format that people are used to, and it adopts WYSWYG (what you see is what you get) interface, which is especially suitable for general calculation without complicated programming or special requirements. MathCAD 7.0 Professional also comes with a program editor, which can be used when it is generally short or the calculation speed is not high. The advantage of this program editor is that the grammar is particularly simple.
MathCAD can be regarded as a powerful calculator without complicated rules; At the same time, it can also be used well with Word processing software such as Word, Lotus, WPS2000, and it can be regarded as an excellent full-screen mathtype.
Fourthly, Mathematica system.
Mathematica is a mathematical system software developed by Wolfram Research led by American physicist stephen wolfram. It has powerful numerical calculation and symbolic calculation ability, which is similar to Maple, but its symbolic calculation is not based on Maple, but developed by itself.
Mathematica's basic system is mainly developed in C language, so it can be easily transplanted to various platforms. Mathematica is an interactive computing system, and the calculation is completed in the process of exchanging information and data between users and Mathematica. The commands accepted by Mathematica system are called expressions. After accepting the expression, the system processes it and returns the calculation result. Mathematica has strict rules on the input form, and users must input according to the mathematical format stipulated by the system, so that the system can handle it correctly. However, due to the introduction of the input panel in version 3.0, and the input panel can be modified and reorganized, the cumbersome way of constantly switching uppercase and lowercase characters when inputting instructions in previous versions has been greatly improved. Version 3.0 can save files and cut and paste contents in various formats, including RTF, HTML, BMP and other formats.
Verb (abbreviation of verb) Comparison of four softwares
What kind of math software do you choose? MathCAD is the first choice if you only need general calculation or ordinary users' daily use. Its ability in advanced mathematics meets the requirements of ordinary customers, and its input interface is particularly friendly. If calculation accuracy, symbolic calculation and programming are required, it is best to use Maple and Mathematica at the same time. They have their own characteristics in symbol processing. Mathematica can handle some things that Maple can't handle, such as some integrals and seeking limits, which is quite special. If you need matrix or graphics processing, choose MATLAB, whose matrix calculation and graphics processing are its strengths. At the same time, using the notebook function of MATLAB combined with the editing function of Word6.0/7.0, scientific and technological articles can be handled conveniently.
Mathematica is trustworthy, and many famous universities abroad are using it for analytical calculation and formula derivation. Prove that the research of algorithm is a very good software for mathematical research. Personally, I think it is No.65438 +0. Its mathematical analysis visualization is unparalleled. Compared with another famous software Maple, its comprehensive performance is better. You know, most of the formulas in the papers on quantum physics and astrophysics in the world are derived from it. Absolutely high-end but easy to use, it is a good helper for researchers in mathematics, mechanics and physics, and even its numerical calculation can fully cope with academic research. The latest versions of mathematica and Maple have greatly improved the input of user formulas, which is more convenient and arbitrary.
Many top universities in North America require it to complete the assignments and projects of mathematical mechanics theory courses such as elasticity, shell theory and finite element. Personally, as a worker of computational mechanics, it is enough to master three computational languages from the perspective of mastering languages. mathematica is used to study analytical methods and mathematical models, Matlab is used to realize numerical algorithms (of course, Mathematica can still be used), and Fortran is used to write executable source code. There is no need to immerse yourself in numerous languages and computing software, which is meaningless.