🚀 go-pugleaf

From: Roman Iwaschkin <100010.3620@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Symbmath Review

Here (at last!) is the review I have written of Symbmath for PC Plus.
Should appear in the May 1993 issue.

Best wishes,
Roman
 
============================================================================
 
<Symbmath>
 
 
SUPPLIER: Public Domain and Shareware Library
 
PHONE: (0892) 661149
 
REGISTRATION: $20
 
FOR: Powerful maths functions
     Automatically learns from user input
     Modest hardware requirements
 
AGAINST: Needs advanced maths knowledge
 
PCPLUS VALUE VERDICT: xxx
___________________________________
 
 
REQUIREMENTS:
 
 
DISPLAY: Hercules/CGA/EGA/VGA
 
DISKS:  3.5/5.25
 
MINIMUM HARDWARE:
                  DRIVES: Hard disk
 
                  RAM:  640 Kb
 
 
OPTIONAL HARDWARE:
 
                  PRINTER: Any
__________________________________________
 
<Symbmath>,  short for Symbolic Mathematics, is both an advanced mathemati-
cal calculator and an expert system.  Designed by Australian-based Weiguang
Huang for  solving  university-  and  professional-level  symbolical  maths
problems,  <Symbmath>  will  also perform exact numerical computation: it's
able to manipulate extremely complicated  formulas,  returning  answers  in
terms of symbols, formulas, or exact numbers as required.  In addition, the
program  can  also  learn from your calculations, automatically adding par-
ticular user-derived problem-solving techniques to its  repertoire;  making
it of interest to AI (Artificial Intelligence) researchers as well as math-
ematicians, particularly since no writing of code is required.
 
Its capabilities are impressive, going well beyond the  facilities  offered
by rival  programs  in  the  field.    It's  very fast indeed, and includes
wide-ranging and sophisticated routines for  differentiation,  integration,
equation solving, algebraic calculations, exact- and floating-point numeri-
cal  computation of numbers ranging from minus to plus infinity, and an ex-
tensive array of other advanced facilities that will be more than enough to
handle academic or practical mathematical problems  of  even  extreme  com-
plexity.   Reading and generation of both BASIC and FORTRAN code is suppor-
ted, as is the display of two-dimensional mathematical  notation;  and  the
program  will  also work effectively in conjunction with other mathematical
programs  (such  as   <PlotData>   graphing)   to   provide   still   wider
functionality.
 
Despite this extensive computing power, <Symbmath> will nevertheless run on
very basic hardware: you'll need at least 640 Kb of RAM and  a  hard  disk,
but  even an 8088-based PC with a monochrome monitor will be ample for even
very convoluted calculations.  The program  is  menu-driven,  and  features
sizeable windows; twin-screen text editing (with built-in syntax checking);
extensive on-line  help.  Naturally, you'll need to be well-schooled in ad-
vanced  maths  to  make  use  of  <Symbmath>,  but  university  and  senior
college-level  workers  in  this  discipline  will find this a program well
worth investigating.
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