Supplementary Mathematica Help Browser
by Ted Ersek   ted.ersek@navy.mil

What you will find here and won't find here

What I try to provide through this resource is additional material to help people get over the Mathematica learning curve. More specifically I try to demonstrate features that are hard to master from the Wolfram Research documentation. I also try to explain nuances that lots of users would otherwise never know about.

This resource isn't intended for people who never used Mathematica and want to start learning how to use it. I suggest that users in that position get a copy of The Mathematica Book and read sections 1.0 through 1.10,  sections 2.1 through 2.4 (260 pages of light reading). After that one should read any sections in Part III (Advanced Mathematics in Mathematica) in the same book that are of interest. At that point one should have a working knowledge of Mathematica.  One can then use The Mathematica Book, and of course this resource as reference material.

Because I don't intend to teach Mathematica from the ground up, a lot of principles fundamental to Mathematica aren't explained here. I figured there is no need to explain features that are explained very well in The Mathematica Book.

You also won't find discussion of certain features that even I haven't used (ie. working with Files and Streams).

New or revised areas

Alternatives

Apply

Array

Blank (_), BlankSequence (__), BlankNullSequence (___)

Block

Button Programming

ButtonStyle

Cases

Clear, ClearAll, Remove

Coefficient, CoefficientList

Complement

Compile

Condition  (Pattn/;Test)

Count

DeleteCases

Default

Distribute

Dot

Evaluate

ExactNumberQ, InexactNumberQ, NumberQ, NumericQ

Flat

Flatten

Fold

FoldList

Format

FreeQ

Function

HoldAll, HoldFirst, HoldRest

HoldAllComplete

HoldForm

HoldPattern

Hyperlinks

Inner

Insert

Level

Level Specification

ListConvolve

ListCorrelate

Map

MapAt

MapIndexed

MapThread

MakeBoxes

MatchQ

MemberQ

Message

NestList

NHoldAll, NHoldFirst, NHoldRest

OneIdentity

Optional (x_^n_.), (x_+y_.), (x_*y_.)

Options, OptionQ

Ordering

Orderless

Outer

Part

Partition

Position

Pattern  (x:pattn)

Pattern Test (x_?Positive), (y_Real?Positive)

Random

Rationalize

Range

Repeated (pattn ..), RepeatedNull (pattn ...)

Replace

ReplaceAll, ReplaceRepeated

ReplacePart

RotateRight, RotateLeft


Rule (→)  versus  RuleDelayed (:→)

Scan

Sequence

SequenceHold

Series

Set (=)  versus  SetDelayed (:=)

Simplify & FullSimplify

Slot, SlotSequence  (#, #n, ##, ##n)

Sort

Split

Subscript (using subscripted symbols)

Remove

TagBox

Table

Thread

Trig option

ToString

Tr

Transpose

Unevaluated

Update

UpValues

Verbatim

$OutputForms

$PreRead, $Pre, $Post, $PrePrint

Clever Little Programs

The Evaluation Process

Where definitions are stored

Subtle points about arithmetic

Lists and Tables of Data

Pattern Matching

Controlling Memory Usage

Tech Support Secrets

Programming for Speed

Slow Kernel Functions

Functions with attributes OneIdentity, Flat, or Orderless

Mathematica Web Pages

Hidden Treasures in the Help Browser

Important Keyboard Shortcuts


Created by Mathematica  (May 16, 2004)

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