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Old 11th July 2019, 12:37 PM   #1
MiroirDuTemps25
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Question What are the best programs for assisting us on maths ?

Hello.

As I say in the title, I want to know what are the best programs on doing maths.

Thanks a a lot !

See you soon !
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Old 11th July 2019, 12:39 PM   #2
ahhell
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I like Mathcad, its sole purpose is to do math and present it in the same manner you are used to seeing.
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Old 11th July 2019, 12:48 PM   #3
MiroirDuTemps25
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I checked, but there is a lot of things on this website or program...

About what do you use this program/website?
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Old 11th July 2019, 02:12 PM   #4
ahhell
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Originally Posted by MiroirDuTemps25 View Post
I checked, but there is a lot of things on this website or program...

About what do you use this program/website?
I'm not sure what your asking there, the syntax is a bit weird.

I use Mathcad 15. Its basically a program that lets you input things in an equation in the same form as you would on paper and spits out the result.

A very simple example type in "1+2:" and you get "3". It does simple math through calculus and can interact with spreadsheets. Its biggest advantage is that you can print out results that pretty much anyone can follow.

Matlab is also popular, its a little better for programming but worse for just math.

https://www.ptc.com/en/products/mathcad/free-trial
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Old 11th July 2019, 02:24 PM   #5
MiroirDuTemps25
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Red face

Sorry for the syntax... I try to express correctly, but that doesn't work every time.

I checked... but I can't understand if the program is free or not.

But for the last question :

I needed to know why you use this program. So... why?
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Old 11th July 2019, 02:31 PM   #6
ahhell
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I'm an engineer who does a lot of math that will be reviewed by others for its adequacy and compliance with building codes.
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Old 11th July 2019, 03:00 PM   #7
MiroirDuTemps25
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Engineer ? About informatic ?
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Old 12th July 2019, 06:14 AM   #8
ahhell
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Originally Posted by MiroirDuTemps25 View Post
Engineer ?
Structural
Quote:
About informatic ?
??

You seem to be using "about" in correctly.

What do you need a math program for?
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Old 12th July 2019, 06:50 AM   #9
elgarak
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When I hear "doing maths", I think "Computer Algebra Systems (CAS)", but you could think of something else. That said, here's what to say about CAS:

The (commercial) leaders in the field are Maple, Mathematica, MATLAB and MathCad. They do have trials and some seriously less capable free tiers, but in general they're very very expensive (in the thousands $) and usually do not pay off unless you're affiliated with an university/school or really really need it professionally.

There's Wolfram Alpha, which is the Google of CAS. Meaning online/Web app version of Mathematica. Full version is subscription ($5 a month), but the free is good also.

There are numerous open source, i.e. free, apps. I have a bunch of them installed, but despite me having worked in some close field (physics) I never actually used them, so I cannot say much about them. Wiki has a good list here to start, but it sometimes lags behind in details, version numbers and new start-ups. I think the most used, and longest still maintained systems are Axiom/OpenAxiom, Maxima and YaCAS. Since they're open source, just install and try. Though it may be more challenging to install them than the commercial systems, as they may be split into the math engine and the graphical front end that displays everything. In particular the latter may need some work, or may not have a simple installer for your operating system.

Last edited by elgarak; 12th July 2019 at 07:10 AM.
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Old 12th July 2019, 11:04 AM   #10
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For doing math I use excel or other similar spreadsheets. I've used them for years and rarely have a need for anything more complex.

But for some reason I get the impression that you are looking for a teaching program. A program for learning math. That would be a different question, and not one I would be able to assist with.
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Old 12th July 2019, 03:56 PM   #11
elgarak
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To clarify: CAS are apps that can do symbolic math. Things where you can type in "int sin x dx", and it tells you "-cos x + C".

Excel can calculate (mostly correct), but that's not real math.

Last edited by elgarak; 12th July 2019 at 03:58 PM.
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Old 12th July 2019, 06:28 PM   #12
MiroirDuTemps25
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Originally Posted by Dr. Keith View Post
For doing math I use excel or other similar spreadsheets. I've used them for years and rarely have a need for anything more complex.

But for some reason I get the impression that you are looking for a teaching program. A program for learning math. That would be a different question, and not one I would be able to assist with.
Yes I think you're right... but I follow MOOC on maths.
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Old 15th July 2019, 02:29 PM   #13
Dr. Keith
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Originally Posted by elgarak View Post
To clarify: CAS are apps that can do symbolic math. Things where you can type in "int sin x dx", and it tells you "-cos x + C".

Excel can calculate (mostly correct), but that's not real math.
You are correct. But calculate is about is as close as I need to get to real math. And when I did real math these tools were not widely available.

The key is that I think the OP is looking more for pedagogical tools than mathematical tools. Although language barriers may prevent much further conversation.
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Old 15th July 2019, 02:55 PM   #14
ahhell
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Originally Posted by Dr. Keith View Post
You are correct. But calculate is about is as close as I need to get to real math. And when I did real math these tools were not widely available.

The key is that I think the OP is looking more for pedagogical tools than mathematical tools. Although language barriers may prevent much further conversation.
I think there is a chance you are correct though I am not certain and answered the question, "What program do you like that does math?" rather than "Do you know any programs that teach Math?".
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Old 21st July 2019, 01:09 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by ahhell View Post
I think there is a chance you are correct though I am not certain and answered the question, "What program do you like that does math?" rather than "Do you know any programs that teach Math?".
I use mathcad - it works for me, but my colleagues who are recent graduates all use python, in fact one said that he's hardly ever used even excel.

I'm going to have to learn it - but then I do little symbolic maths.
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Old 24th July 2019, 05:53 PM   #16
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If the OP is looking for a program with math lessons, I enjoy Brilliant, which is an app that has little courses on it. It’s also got a daily puzzle that I enjoy (that’s free).

Because I don’t subscribe to the paid service I don’t know how far in depth the courses go, but what I’ve seen so far is relatively well done.
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