On Sun, 28 Nov 1999, S.D.Mechveliani wrote:
> DoCon provides the standard functions
> cToPol "coefficient to polynomial",
> varPs "variables as polynomials".
> In other algebra systems, they are easy to program too - as soon as
> the polynomial representation method is chosen.
> How this all relates to your question?
I think I misunderstood what you were saying with respect to why these
were like Maple indeterminate variables. There's the simple way in which
maple & mathematica treat indeterminates at the system level, namely
applying a function to an indeterminate which doesn't have a pattern
specifying its value for an indeterminate evaluates to itself,
i.e.,log(x)=>log(x). Then there's the more complicated sense, that your
sophisticated stuff seems to deal with, where rules are given for
indeterminates and combinations of indeterminates corresponding to
mathematical `objects', eg, polynomials, power series, etc. I _think_ it
was primarily the simple sense that Jerzy was talking about; it's nice
that the system knows how to deal with indeterminates by default since
then functions written purely for arguments with concrete values
produce sensible results automatically. (This isn't just useful for
classical mathematics; I know someone doing a PhD in optimizing compilers
who uses mathematica where indeterminates are unknown program fragments
and `algebraic simplification rules' are program optimizations.)
As this is drifting off-topic shall we take this discussion offline?
___cheers,_dave________________________________________________________
www.cs.bris.ac.uk/~tweed/pi.htm Farenheit 451 is the temperature at
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] which paper burns. Let's do an experiment to
work tel: (0117) 954-5253 see what temperature melts human brain cells.
