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The Mathematica Guidebook: Programming | 
 enlarge | Author: Michael Trott
Publisher: Springer
Category: Book
List Price: $89.95
Buy New: $67.36
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Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 467865
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 904
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 4.4
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 7.1 x 2.1
ISBN: 0387942823
Dewey Decimal Number: 510.28553
EAN: 9780387942827
Publication Date: October 28, 2004
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Product Description
Mathematica is today’s most advanced technical computing system. It features a rich programming environment, two-and three-dimensional graphics capabilities and hundreds of sophisticated, powerful programming and mathematical functions using state-of-the-art algorithms. Combined with a user-friendly interface, and a complete mathematical typesetting system, Mathematica offers an intuitive, easy-to-handle environment of great power and utility. The Mathematica Guidebook for Programming provides a comprehensive, step-by-step development of Mathematica programming capabilities and contains an enormous collection of examples and worked exercises. It guides the reader to become fluent in the structure of Mathematica expressions, expression evaluation, pure and named functions, and in procedural, rule-based, and functional programming constructs. Each Mathematica function is discussed in detail, explained in numerous examples, and put to work in real programs that are contained on the accompanying DVD. Unique Features: * Step-by-step presentation of Mathematica functions assuming no prior Mathematica programming experience * Clear organization, complete topic coverage, and an accessible writing style for both novices and experts * Detailed discussion of procedural, rule-based, and functional programming * Hundreds of worked examples, illustrations, programs, and fully worked self-study exercises for understanding concepts and learning how to solve real-life problems * Website for book with additional materials: http://www.MathematicaGuideBooks.org * Accompanying DVD containing all materials as an electronic book with complete, executable Mathematica versions 4 and 5 compatible code and programs, rendered color graphics, and animations Michael Trott is a symbolic computation and computer graphics expert. He holds a Ph.D. in theoretical physics and joined the R&D team at Wolfram Research in 1994, the creators of Mathematica. Since 1998, he has been leading development of the Wolfram Functions Site http://functions.wolfram.com, which currently features more that 80,000 formulas and identities, and thousands of visualizations.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 Pedagogical masterpiece November 5, 2005
Vijay Sonnad (Manteca, California, USA)
23 out of 23 found this review helpful
I purchased the Programming Guidebook with considerable hesitation; to all appearances the Guidebooks are intended for the discerning cognoscenti, whereas I am very much a Mathematica novice.
The Programming Guidebook turned out to be a pleasant surprise: while there is a vast amount of material that would benefit the expert, it is also a careful and patient instruction book for the beginner.
Mathematica is a complex system; at first acquaintance it appears to be a bewildering collection of expressions and ad hoc programming styles. This book is a pedagogical masterpiece: it brings order to this seeming chaos by revealing the underlying framework. Topics are organized into comprehensible groups and the author focuses on each in detail.
Some parts that particularly appealed to this reader:
The section in Chapter 1 on Solutions to "What you always wanted to compute". This is a wonderfully whimsical list of problems that the author has gathered over many years and each is backed up by several references. This section is an unexpected delight and following up on the references provides an education in itself. The very first paragraph in Chapter 2, where the author provides one of the keys to unraveling Mathematica. The section in Chapter 3 on lambda calculus, which clarifies the use of pure functions. The entire collection of topics in Chapter 4 on meta-Mathematica.
Chapter 5 deals with the topic that is probably most foreign to those like myself used to traditional languages, (Fortran, C, C++); the treatment in this chapter is outstanding. Chapter 6 shows how Mathematica uses lists as a unified approach for vectors, matrices and tensors. Be aware however, that the book does require a fair background in mathematics or physics, (bachelor's or above).
It is clear that this is a labor of love; the author is deeply excited by the capabilities of Mathematica, and does his best to share his enthusiasm with the reader. The result is an inspiring book that is richly deserving of high praise. To fellow novices aspiring to use Mathematica gainfully, I can recommend the Programming Guidebook without hesitation. With study and patience, this Guidebook will dramatically enhance your ability to use Mathematica successfully.
I still believe my path to skillful use of Mathematica is going to be a long one, but it does not matter - with a guide like this, I expect to enjoy the journey immensely.
Easily the best Mathematica reference I've seen July 20, 2005
Zaeem Burq (Melbourne, Australia)
34 out of 34 found this review helpful
(...)
Now then - one of the advantages of Mathematica is that it is supported by extensive documentation - both online and in print. Trott's Guidebooks (set of four books - Programming, Graphics, Symbolics and Numerics) is an impressive addition to this literature. These books stand out among the rest of the literature in several respects:
1. The whole set put together must be the biggest Mathematica book around.
2. The books teach Mahtematica through examples. But unlike most other books, the examples are not toy-examples; they are applications of Mathematica to non-trivial mathematical problems. Not only do they teach you Mathematica, they also teach you mathematics!!
3. The above mentioned non-trivial mathematical problems and results are very well referenced. Each chapter ends with an extensive bibliography - usually several hundred references. This further enhances the value of the Guidebooks as books on mathematics, not just Mathematica.
4. Each book comes with a DVD containing the WHOLE SET (yup - you heard it - all four books) as Mathematica notebooks. You can open these notebooks in Mathematica, edit them and experiment with them.
5. There is a piece of Mathematica code on the web-page that incorporates the whole set on DVD into the Mathematica help browser. This feature is just brilliant!!
One of the most thorough books on ANY subject! January 10, 2008
C. Bailey (Maryland United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Trott's 4 book set is an amazing achievement. The Programming volume is the most generally useful, and Trott suggests reading The Mathematica Book (by Wolfram) through, cover to cover, and then reading Trott's own books in the order Programming, Graphics, Numerics, Symbolics. So, start with Programming when reading Trott. I think following these instructions would be the best way to start from zero and master Mathematica.
It is hard to even consider all the information in here. I like areas others have discussed, like the Lambda calculus and the Metamathematica discussions. I also like that all 4 of the books are included, formatted as Mathematica Notebooks, on the DVD. The DVD that comes with any one volume contains that volume's notebooks already evaluated, and the other 3 volumes' notebooks unevaluated, and an unevaluated copy of that volume's notebooks, and the Table of Contents and Index and other infrastructural notebooks. So, while the hardcopy is very nice to have, I've also hunted around in the other volumes with great benefit.
It really makes no sense to compare these with Ruskeepaa's Mathematica Navigator, which is a nice example of the several books that help get one started with Mathematica. Trott is aiming at a whole different level. His explanations are more insightful, more complete. He discusses more topics.
Trott goes well beyond Wolfram's book. To quote him, "The four GuideBooks contain about 25,000 Mathematica inputs, representing more than 70,000 lines of commented Mathematica code. (For the reader already familiar with Mathematica, here is a more precise measure: The LeafCount of all inputs would be about 800,000 when collected in a list.) The GuideBooks also have more than 4,000 graphics, 100 animations, 8,000 references, and 1,000 exercises. More than 10,000 hyperlinked index entries and hundreds of hyperlinks from the overview sections connect all parts in a convenient way. The evaluated notebooks of all four volumes have a cumulative file size of about 10 GB."
Mathematica is a huge and powerful tool. As Mathematica is to other technical computing tools, Trott's set is to other Mathematica books.
A stunning triumph February 14, 2007
Daniel M. Topa (Albuquerque, NM)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Michael is a world authority on Mathematica. His deep insight, fresh perspectives and Herculean writing have produced a singular volume. It is impossible to turn the pages without a sense of amazement. If you want to appreciate the power and beauty of Mathematica, there is no better choice.
Here we see Mathematica as used by a master. The instruction is top notch, the examples are superlative, the topics are fascinating.
I think the customer rating system shows a blemish in allowing someone to rate this book as a poor introduction. It is a guidebook, a survey of capabilities, and as such is superlative example.
A Treasure of Mathematica Information December 29, 2005
Paul B. Slater (Santa Barbara, CA)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
Michael Trott's skill, knowledge and enthusiasm regarding the use of
Mathematica in scientific research is extraordinarily impressive, as I
have found to my considerable
benefit from some extended professional contact.
His infectious passion is manifested very strongly in this Guidebook
(devoted to programming, with the subsequent three volumes --- already
available --- being
concerned with the topics of graphics, symbolics and numerics).
Chapter 1 ("Introduction to Mathematica")
alone contains close to twelve hundred
references to the scientific literature (mostly physics, mathematics
and engineering
in nature), pertaining to one application or another --- many of an
engaging/intriguing nature.
Each chapter includes a set of exercises and a detailed solution
proposal for each exercise.
It certainly behooves each reader to peruse the Table of Contents and the
Index to find the topics of most interest to him or her. Much valuable time
for the computer practitioner
can certainly be spent with simple browsing of this impressive work of
devotion and erudition.
Desirably, some of the virtuosity in the use of Mathematica, abundantly
exhibited here by Trott, can be acquired by the reader.
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