Maple Fundamentals Guide: Talking To Maple Steps Results
Maple Fundamentals Guide: Talking To Maple Steps Results
Maple Fundamentals Guide: Talking To Maple Steps Results
This tutorial is designed to help you become familiar with the Maple environment and
teach you fundamental concepts and tools you need to become productive quickly. To try
this material on your own, start with an empty Maple document. Perform the steps found
in the left column of each table below. The results of each step are displayed in the right
column for your reference.
Note: This guide assumes you are working in Document mode. Most information applies
equally to Worksheet mode, with minor visual differences. Any important differences are
noted in the text.
Talking to Maple
Steps Results
Start Page
When you first open Maple, you will see the
Start page. This page points you to a
important resources for new users, and can
be turned off later if desired.
Click on the New Document icon, on the top
left of the page to open a blank document.
Using [ENTER]
You can start by typing math into your
Maple document and pressing [ENTER] in
order to see the result.
Using [Alt]+[ENTER]
Worksheet mode:
In worksheet mode, you enter your problem
at the input prompt [ > ] and press [ENTER]
to see the result (the output). In a typical
workflow, to use the context menus, you put
your cursor on your last result, and then
choose an operation from the context panel
to apply to that expression. Maple will insert
the relevant command at the next input
prompt, and evaluate it to return your
result.
The context menu operations use equation
labels to refer to the expression Maple is
performing the operation on. You can learn
more about equation labels later in this
document.
Changing the Problem
Steps Results
Entering Fractions
Use / to enter a fraction. When you type /,
you will automatically moved into to the
denominator. Use the right-arrow key to
come out again.
at 5 digits
= 3.9749
Label References
(2.3)
Whenever you use [ENTER] to get a
response, the result is automatically given a
label reference. To refer to a previous result
in a computation, use [Ctrl]+[L] and enter
the label reference number.
(2.4)
Example: To assign the value "10" to the
variable name "cost", type "cost := 10".
20 (2.5)
After a value has been assigned to "cost", it
can be used in subsequent calculations.
You can see any assigned variables and
their respective values in the Variables
palette.
Tip: Maple performs calculations only when
you ask it to. If you change the value of a
variable, you need to re-execute the
statements that depend on that value to see
updated results. Until you do, your
document will continue to display the result
based on the previous value.
Defining Functions
To define a function, use arrow notation,
such as . Enter the arrow operator
by typing a hyphen [ - ] followed by a
greater than sign [ > ]. Maple
automatically reformats those (2.6)
characters as a single arrow character.
Example: Define a function to take a
4 (2.7)
value, w, and return its square.
Tip: You can also enter math into Maple by taking a picture of it with your phone using the
free Maple Calculator app. The app also lets you solve many problems directly on your
phone. Learn more
Adding Text
You can include text throughout your Maple document.
Steps Results
Your document can contain math, text, and The solution can be expressed as
nonexecutable math, which is math that you
don't want Maple to evaluate because it's
part of your explanation, not a calculation,
You can press [F5] to cycle between modes,
or use the buttons in the toolbar:
You can combine text and math in the same The solution can be expressed as
line. Place your cursor at the end of your , so it's easily found.
sentence, and press [F5] again to move to
nonexecutable math input. Once you have
entered your mathematical expression,
press [F5] again twice to return to text.
Using nonexecutable math in your text
instead of live math is especially important if
you want to be able to execute your
worksheet using the Excecute All button. .
If the math is live, Maple will execute the
expression and show the results at the end
of the paragraph.
You can include live calculations inside your
paragraph by using live, executable math in
combination with inline evaluation or
context menu operations (Document mode
only). You can even replace the = sign or
context menu descriptions with text. factor 2
We know that = , so...
Enter the example to the right, using the
Factor context menu. This time, press [F5]
twice so that you move from text to math
We know that can be rewritten
mode. 2
as , so...
Change the +1 to -15, highlight the entire We know that can be rewritten
sentence and click execute all selected as , so...
groups ( ) to re-execute the computation.
Tip: If you are trying to enter math but it doesn't seem to be formatting properly, you are
most likely in text mode. If the math looks right but it doesn't seem to get executed, you
are probably in nonexecutable math mode. In live math mode, the cursor is slanted, and
has a blue box around it. In nonexecutable math mode, the cursor is slanted and has a
gray box. In text mode, the cursor appears as a vertical bar. Remember you can always
use the toolbar to check, and change, your mode:
Tip for Worksheet mode: If the cursor is at an input prompt, [F5] will toggle your input
mode between math notation and Maple syntax, for example, int(exp(x)/2, x) instead of
.
Plotting
Maple can produce a large variety of 2-D and 3-D plots and animations.
Steps Results
2-D Plots
Annotating Plots
Plot Options
Steps Results
Example: Type
but don't press [ENTER]. Select Explore
from the context panel. From here, you can
set the range of values you want to explore,
as well as specify any variables to skip.
When you select skip, that parameter
remains as a symbolic unknown in the
expression; no slider will be created to
control that value. With this expression,
choose to skip x and y. Move the sliders to
change the plot.
Steps Results
(6.5)
Example: Load the LinearAlgebra package.
Now add a colon to the end to see the (6.5)
difference.
(6.6)
Example: Type Gau, then press [Esc] to see
a list of possible completions. Use the arrow
key to select the desired command and
press [Enter], or select the command with
the mouse.
Steps Results
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