This month, I have the happy privilege to write about the new availability of Mathematica software at Yale. If the following reads more like a press release than my usual column, what can I say? I need to get the word out, I need to write the column, and I need my ZZs. To wit:
Yale's Academic Computing Services (ACS) and the Science and Engineering Computing Facility (SECF) have negotiated a site license agreement with Wolfram Research, Inc. to supply the powerful mathematical software called Mathematica on a variety of computer platforms.
Mathematica is one of the leading comprehensive mathematical software systems. It has extensive symbolic algebra capabilities, providing analytical solutions to complex calculus problems. Mathematica will also find numerical answers when there are no tractable closed-form solutions. The software also has a large variety of graphics routines, which are very useful for visualizing data in one, two, or three dimensions. There are animation and sound output options as well. Mathematica can interface with routines written in other languages, communicate with remote programs over the network, and it can also be used as a limited programming language. (Mathematica is primarily a "functional" rather than a conventional "procedural" language. Ask your friendly local CS major for a detailed explanation.)
Under terms of the agreement, members of the Yale community (half time and above) may have access to Mathematica for Yale-related teaching and learning activities. The software may not be used for commercial or strictly research purposes, and it may not be resold or taken away from Yale when a person graduates or leaves his or her Yale position.
ACS and SECF plan to use several methods to distribute Mathematica to the Yale community. (Some details are not yet defined at this writing.) Macintosh and Windows users with computers on the campus network will use campus file servers to download the software for their machines. As with other ACS software, we will use the "Key Server" system to regulate usage. For Mathematica, this means that the freely downloaded software may only be used when your Mac or PC is attached to the campus network. When Mathematica starts, the key access software checks in with a central server for permission to run.
Students and faculty who do not have ready network access will have to obtain media copies for Macintosh or Windows from the Microcomputer Support Center (MCSC) at 175 Whitney. In this case, a signed license form will be required, and a nominal media fee may be charged.
Complete documentation kits for Mathematica will also be available at MCSC for approximately $90. The kit includes a comprehensive reference book, documentation for special Mathematica "packages," and release notes for the current version. Many excellent Mathematica books are also available from your favorite technical bookstore.
Unix versions of Mathematica are also covered under the site license. We expect to have media for Sun, IBM, DEC, SGI, and NeXT computers. Other common systems can be provided if there is sufficient demand. When possible, Mathematica software will be distributed from central Unix servers. For Unix systems, we expect to charge a modest fee to recover administrative expenses and a proportion of the cost of the license. Contact SECF at <secf@yale.edu> f>r latest information.
Mathematica is a large program. For the complete system to run effectively on your system you need the following recommended minimum configurations.
Operating System(MAC) Macintosh System Software 7.0 or higher, or A/UX 3.0. Power Macintosh version requires Macintosh System Software 7.1.2 or later. (WINDOWS) MS-DOS Version 3.1 or higher. Microsoft Windows 3.1. Microsoft Windows NT (Enhanced Version only).
Disk Space(MAC) The main system requires approximately 7MB (12MB for Power Macintosh version). The Front End Only requires 2MB. (WINDOWS) 13MB to install. Additional 16MB swap space recommended. 8MB of sample notebooks also included.
Memory Requirements(MAC) 6MB partition required, 10MB recommended. The Front End Only requires a 1MB partition, 2MB or more recommended. Mathematica may use virtual memory under System 7.0. On the Power Macintosh version the kernel requires a 5MB partition (10MB without virtual memory) and the front end requires a 1MB partition (2.5MB without virtual memory). (WINDOWS) 4MB total memory required, 6MB recommended.
Processors and Coprocessors(MAC) The Standard Version does not require floating-point hardware and runs on any Macintosh with sufficient RAM and disk space. The Enhanced Version, which is optimized to do floating-point operations more quickly, requires a 68020 or higher CPU and takes advantage of a numeric coprocessor. The Enhanced Version also includes a separate copy of Mathematica for use without a numeric coprocessor as well as the native Power Macintosh version.
(WINDOWS) Runs on all 386 compatibles (including 386, 386SX, 486SX, 486DX, and Pentium). The Standard Version does not require floating-point hardware. The Enhanced Version utilizes floating-point hardware if it is available.
(Adapted from Wolfram's WWW server:
Martin Ewing is director of the Science and Engineering Computing Facility. Send comments and questions to <martin.ewing@yale.edu>, or call 432-4243