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<h1 class="chapter"> 3. Help </h1>
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<table class="menu" border="0" cellspacing="0">
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top"><a href="#SEC6">3.1 Introduction to Help</a></td><td>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align="left" valign="top">        
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</td></tr>
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top"><a href="#SEC7">3.2 Lisp and Maxima</a></td><td>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align="left" valign="top">            
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</td></tr>
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top"><a href="#SEC8">3.3 Garbage Collection</a></td><td>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align="left" valign="top">          
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</td></tr>
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top"><a href="#SEC9">3.4 Documentation</a></td><td>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align="left" valign="top">               
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</td></tr>
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top"><a href="#SEC10">3.5 Definitions for Help</a></td><td>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align="left" valign="top">        
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</tr></table>
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<h2 class="section"> 3.1 Introduction to Help </h2>
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<p>The primary on-line help function is <code>describe</code>,
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which is typically invoked by the question mark <code>?</code> at the interactive prompt.
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<code>? foo</code> (with a space between <code>?</code> and <code>foo</code>)
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is equivalent to <code>describe (&quot;foo&quot;)</code>, where <code>foo</code>
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is the name or part of the name of a function or topic;
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<code>describe</code> then finds all documented items which contain the string
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<code>foo</code> in their titles.
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If there is more than one such item, Maxima asks the user to select
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an item or items to display.
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</p>
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<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">(%i1) ? integ
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 0: (maxima.info)Introduction to Elliptic Functions and Integrals.
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 1: Definitions for Elliptic Integrals.
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 2: Integration.
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 3: Introduction to Integration.
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 4: Definitions for Integration.
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 5: askinteger :Definitions for Simplification.
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 6: integerp :Definitions for Miscellaneous Options.
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 7: integrate :Definitions for Integration.
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 8: integrate_use_rootsof :Definitions for Integration.
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 9: integration_constant_counter :Definitions for Integration.
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Enter space-separated numbers, `all' or `none': 7 8
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Info from file /use/local/maxima/doc/info/maxima.info:
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 - Function: integrate (expr, var)
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 - Function: integrate (expr, var, a, b)
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     Attempts to symbolically compute the integral of `expr' with
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     respect to `var'.  `integrate (expr, var)' is an indefinite
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     integral, while `integrate (expr, var, a, b)' is a definite
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     integral, [...]
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</pre></td></tr></table>
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<p>In this example, items 7 and 8 were selected.
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All or none of the items could have been selected by entering <code>all</code> or <code>none</code>,
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which can be abbreviated <code>a</code> or <code>n</code>, respectively.
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</p>
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<a name="Lisp-and-Maxima"></a>
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<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="maxima.html#SEC_Top" title="Cover (top) of document">Top</a>]</td>
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<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="maxima_abt.html#SEC_About" title="About (help)"> ? </a>]</td>
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</tr></table>
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<h2 class="section"> 3.2 Lisp and Maxima </h2>
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<p>Maxima is written in Lisp, and it is easy to access Lisp functions and variables
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from Maxima and vice versa.
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Lisp and Maxima symbols are distinguished by a naming convention.
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A Lisp symbol which begins with a dollar sign <code>$</code> corresponds to
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a Maxima symbol without the dollar sign.
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A Maxima symbol which begins with a question mark <code>?</code> corresponds to
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a Lisp symbol without the question mark.
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For example, the Maxima symbol <code>foo</code> corresponds to the Lisp symbol <code>$foo</code>,
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while the Maxima symbol <code>?foo</code> corresponds to the Lisp symbol <code>foo</code>,
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Note that <code>?foo</code> is written without a space between <code>?</code> and <code>foo</code>;
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otherwise it might be mistaken for <code>describe (&quot;foo&quot;)</code>.
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</p>
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<p>Hyphen <code>-</code>, asterisk <code>*</code>, or other special characters in Lisp symbols
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must be escaped by backslash <code>\</code> where they appear in Maxima code.
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For example, the Lisp identifier <code>*foo-bar*</code> is written <code>?\*foo\-bar\*</code> in Maxima.
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</p>
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<p>Lisp code may be executed from within a Maxima session.
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A single line of Lisp (containing one or more forms) may be executed
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by the special command <code>:lisp</code>. For example,
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</p>
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<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">(%i1) :lisp (foo $x $y)
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</pre></td></tr></table>
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<p>calls the Lisp function <code>foo</code> with Maxima variables <code>x</code> and <code>y</code> as arguments.
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The <code>:lisp</code> construct can appear at the interactive prompt
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or in a file processed by <code>batch</code> or <code>demo</code>, but not in a file processed by
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<code>load</code>, <code>batchload</code>, <code>translate_file</code>, or <code>compile_file</code>.
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</p>
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<p>The function <code>to_lisp()</code> opens an interactive Lisp session.
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Entering <code>(to-maxima)</code> closes the Lisp session and returns to Maxima.
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</p>
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<p>Lisp functions and variables which are to be visible in Maxima as
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functions and variables with ordinary names (no special punctuation)
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must have Lisp names beginning with the dollar sign <code>$</code>.
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</p>
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<p>Maxima is case-sensitive, distinguishing between lowercase and uppercase letters
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in identifiers, while Lisp is not.
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There are some rules governing the translation of names between Lisp and Maxima.
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</p>
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<ol>
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<li>
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A Lisp identifier not enclosed in vertical bars corresponds to a Maxima identifier
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in lowercase.
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Whether the Lisp identifier is uppercase, lowercase, or mixed case, is ignored.
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E.g., Lisp <code>$foo</code>, <code>$FOO</code>, and <code>$Foo</code> all correspond to Maxima <code>foo</code>.
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</li><li>
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A Lisp identifier which is all uppercase or all lowercase
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and enclosed in vertical bars corresponds to a Maxima identifier with case reversed.
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That is, uppercase is changed to lowercase and lowercase to uppercase.
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E.g., Lisp <code>|$FOO|</code> and <code>|$foo|</code>
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correspond to Maxima <code>foo</code> and <code>FOO</code>, respectively.
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</li><li>
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A Lisp identifier which is mixed uppercase and lowercase
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and enclosed in vertical bars corresponds to a Maxima identifier with the same case.
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E.g., Lisp <code>|$Foo|</code> corresponds to Maxima <code>Foo</code>.
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</li></ol>
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<p>The <code>#$</code> Lisp macro allows the use of Maxima expressions in Lisp code.
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<code>#$<var>expr</var>$</code> expands to a Lisp expression equivalent to the Maxima expression <var>expr</var>.
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</p>
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<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">(msetq $foo #$[x, y]$)
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</pre></td></tr></table>
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<p>This has the same effect as entering
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</p>
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<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">(%i1) foo: [x, y];
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</pre></td></tr></table>
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<p>The Lisp function <code>displa</code> prints an expression in Maxima format.
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</p>
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<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">(%i1) :lisp #$[x, y, z]$ 
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((MLIST SIMP) $X $Y $Z)
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(%i1) :lisp (displa '((MLIST SIMP) $X $Y $Z))
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[x, y, z]
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NIL
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</pre></td></tr></table>
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<p>Functions defined in Maxima are not ordinary Lisp functions.
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The Lisp function <code>mfuncall</code> calls a Maxima function.
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For example:
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</p>
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<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">(%i1) foo(x,y) := x*y$
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(%i2) :lisp (mfuncall '$foo 'a 'b)
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((MTIMES SIMP) A B)
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</pre></td></tr></table>
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<p>Some Lisp functions are shadowed in the Maxima package, namely the following.
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</p>
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<p><code>complement</code>,
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<code>continue</code>,
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<code>//</code>,
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<code>float</code>,
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<code>functionp</code>,
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<code>array</code>,
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<code>exp</code>,
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<code>listen</code>,
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<code>signum</code>,
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<code>atan</code>,
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<code>asin</code>,
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<code>acos</code>,
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<code>asinh</code>,
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<code>acosh</code>,
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<code>atanh</code>,
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<code>tanh</code>,
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<code>cosh</code>,
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<code>sinh</code>,
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<code>tan</code>,
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<code>break</code>,
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and <code>gcd</code>.
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</p>
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<h2 class="section"> 3.3 Garbage Collection </h2>
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<p>Symbolic computation tends to create a good deal
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of garbage, and effective handling of this can be crucial to successful
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completion of some programs.
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</p>
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<p>Under GCL, on UNIX systems where the mprotect system call is available
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(including SUN OS 4.0 and some variants of BSD) a stratified garbage collection
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is available.   This limits the collection to pages which have been recently
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written to.    See the GCL documentation under ALLOCATE and GBC.   At the
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Lisp level doing (setq si::*notify-gbc* t) will help you determine which
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areas might need more space.
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</p>
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<h2 class="section"> 3.4 Documentation </h2>
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<p>The Maxima on-line user's manual can be viewed in different forms.
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From the Maxima interactive prompt, the user's manual
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is viewed as plain text by the <code>?</code> command (i.e., the <code>describe</code> function).
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The user's manual is viewed as <code>info</code> hypertext by the <code>info</code> viewer program
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and as a web page by any ordinary web browser.
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</p>
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<p><code>example</code> displays examples for many Maxima functions.
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For example,
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</p>
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<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">(%i1) example (integrate);
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</pre></td></tr></table>
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<p>yields
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</p>
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<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">(%i2) test(f):=block([u],u:integrate(f,x),ratsimp(f-diff(u,x)))
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(%o2) test(f) := block([u], u : integrate(f, x), 
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                                         ratsimp(f - diff(u, x)))
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(%i3) test(sin(x))
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(%o3)                           0
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(%i4) test(1/(x+1))
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(%o4)                           0
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(%i5) test(1/(x^2+1))
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(%o5)                           0
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</pre></td></tr></table>
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<p>and additional output.
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</p>
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<hr size="6">
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<a name="Definitions-for-Help"></a>
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<a name="SEC10"></a>
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<table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" border="0">
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<tr><td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC9" title="Previous section in reading order"> &lt; </a>]</td>
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<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="maxima_4.html#SEC11" title="Next section in reading order"> &gt; </a>]</td>
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<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
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<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC5" title="Beginning of this chapter or previous chapter"> &lt;&lt; </a>]</td>
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<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC5" title="Up section"> Up </a>]</td>
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<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="maxima_4.html#SEC11" title="Next chapter"> &gt;&gt; </a>]</td>
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<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
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<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
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<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
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<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
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<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="maxima.html#SEC_Top" title="Cover (top) of document">Top</a>]</td>
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<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="maxima_toc.html#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents">Contents</a>]</td>
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<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="maxima_72.html#SEC264" title="Index">Index</a>]</td>
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<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="maxima_abt.html#SEC_About" title="About (help)"> ? </a>]</td>
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</tr></table>
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<h2 class="section"> 3.5 Definitions for Help </h2>
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<dl>
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<dt><u>Function:</u> <b>demo</b><i> (<var>filename</var>)</i>
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<a name="IDX8"></a>
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</dt>
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<dd><p>Evaluates Maxima expressions in <var>filename</var> and displays the results.
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<code>demo</code> pauses after evaluating each expression
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and continues after the user enters a carriage return.
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(If running in Xmaxima, <code>demo</code> may need to see a semicolon <code>;</code>
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followed by a carriage return.)
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</p>
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<p><code>demo</code> searches the list of directories
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<code>file_search_demo</code> to find <code>filename</code>.
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If the file has the suffix <code>dem</code>,
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the suffix may be omitted.
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See also <code>file_search</code>.
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</p>
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<p><code>demo</code> evaluates its argument.
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<code>demo</code> returns the name of the demonstration file.
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</p>
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<p>Example:
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</p>
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<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">(%i1) demo (&quot;disol&quot;);
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batching /home/wfs/maxima/share/simplification/disol.dem
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 At the _ prompt, type ';' followed by enter to get next demo
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(%i2)                      load(disol)
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_
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(%i3)           exp1 : a (e (g + f) + b (d + c))
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(%o3)               a (e (g + f) + b (d + c))
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_
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(%i4)                disolate(exp1, a, b, e)
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(%t4)                         d + c
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(%t5)                         g + f
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(%o5)                   a (%t5 e + %t4 b)
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_
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(%i5) demo (&quot;rncomb&quot;);
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batching /home/wfs/maxima/share/simplification/rncomb.dem
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 At the _ prompt, type ';' followed by enter to get next demo
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(%i6)                     load(rncomb)
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_
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                             z         x
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(%i7)               exp1 : ----- + ---------
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                           y + x   2 (y + x)
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                          z         x
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(%o7)                   ----- + ---------
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                        y + x   2 (y + x)
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_
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(%i8)                     combine(exp1)
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                          z         x
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(%o8)                   ----- + ---------
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                        y + x   2 (y + x)
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_
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(%i9)                     rncombine(%)
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                             2 z + x
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(%o9)                       ---------
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                            2 (y + x)
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_
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                             d   c   b   a
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(%i10)                exp2 : - + - + - + -
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                             3   3   2   2
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                          d   c   b   a
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(%o10)                    - + - + - + -
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                          3   3   2   2
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_
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(%i11)                    combine(exp2)
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                      2 d + 2 c + 3 (b + a)
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(%o11)                ---------------------
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                                6
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_
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(%i12)                   rncombine(exp2)
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                      2 d + 2 c + 3 b + 3 a
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(%o12)                ---------------------
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                                6
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_
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(%i13) 
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</pre></td></tr></table>
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</dd></dl>
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<dl>
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<dt><u>Function:</u> <b>describe</b><i> (<var>string</var>)</i>
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<a name="IDX9"></a>
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</dt>
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<dd><p>Finds all documented items which contain <var>string</var> in their titles.
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If there is more than one such item, Maxima asks the user to select
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an item or items to display.
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At the interactive prompt,
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<code>? foo</code> (with a space between <code>?</code> and <code>foo</code>)
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is equivalent to <code>describe (&quot;foo&quot;)</code>.
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</p>
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<p><code>describe (&quot;&quot;)</code> yields a list of all topics documented in the on-line manual.
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</p>
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<p><code>describe</code> quotes its argument. <code>describe</code> always returns <code>false</code>.
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</p>
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<p>Example:
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</p>
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<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">(%i1) ? integ
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 0: (maxima.info)Introduction to Elliptic Functions and Integrals.
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 1: Definitions for Elliptic Integrals.
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 2: Integration.
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 3: Introduction to Integration.
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 4: Definitions for Integration.
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 5: askinteger :Definitions for Simplification.
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 6: integerp :Definitions for Miscellaneous Options.
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 7: integrate :Definitions for Integration.
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 8: integrate_use_rootsof :Definitions for Integration.
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 9: integration_constant_counter :Definitions for Integration.
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Enter space-separated numbers, `all' or `none': 7 8
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Info from file /use/local/maxima/doc/info/maxima.info:
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 - Function: integrate (expr, var)
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 - Function: integrate (expr, var, a, b)
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     Attempts to symbolically compute the integral of `expr' with
575
     respect to `var'.  `integrate (expr, var)' is an indefinite
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     integral, while `integrate (expr, var, a, b)' is a definite
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     integral, [...]
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</pre></td></tr></table>
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<p>In this example, items 7 and 8 were selected.
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All or none of the items could have been selected by entering <code>all</code> or <code>none</code>,
581
which can be abbreviated <code>a</code> or <code>n</code>, respectively.
582
</p>
583
<p>see section <a href="#SEC6">Introduction to Help</a>
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</p>
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</dd></dl>
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587
<dl>
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<dt><u>Function:</u> <b>example</b><i> (<var>topic</var>)</i>
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<a name="IDX10"></a>
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</dt>
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<dt><u>Function:</u> <b>example</b><i> ()</i>
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<a name="IDX11"></a>
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</dt>
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<dd><p><code>example (<var>topic</var>)</code> displays some examples of <var>topic</var>,
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which is a symbol (not a string).
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Most topics are function names.
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<code>example ()</code> returns the list of all recognized topics.
598
</p>
599
<p>The name of the file containing the examples is given by the
600
global variable <code>manual_demo</code>, which defaults to <code>&quot;manual.demo&quot;</code>.
601
</p>
602
<p><code>example</code> quotes its argument.
603
<code>example</code> returns <code>done</code>
604
unless there is an error or there is no argument, in which case <code>example</code>
605
returns the list of all recognized topics.
606
</p>
607
<p>Examples:
608
</p>
609
<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">(%i1) example (append);
610
(%i2) append([x+y,0,-3.2],[2.5E+20,x])
611
(%o2)             [y + x, 0, - 3.2, 2.5E+20, x]
612
(%o2)                         done
613
(%i3) example (coeff);
614
(%i4) coeff(b+tan(x)+2*a*tan(x) = 3+5*tan(x),tan(x))
615
(%o4)                      2 a + 1 = 5
616
(%i5) coeff(1+x*%e^x+y,x,0)
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(%o5)                         y + 1
618
(%o5)                         done
619
</pre></td></tr></table>
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</dd></dl>
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<hr size="6">
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<table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" border="0">
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<tr><td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC5" title="Beginning of this chapter or previous chapter"> &lt;&lt; </a>]</td>
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<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="maxima_4.html#SEC11" title="Next chapter"> &gt;&gt; </a>]</td>
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<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
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<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
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<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
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<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
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<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
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<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="maxima.html#SEC_Top" title="Cover (top) of document">Top</a>]</td>
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<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="maxima_toc.html#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents">Contents</a>]</td>
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<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="maxima_72.html#SEC264" title="Index">Index</a>]</td>
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<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="maxima_abt.html#SEC_About" title="About (help)"> ? </a>]</td>
636
</tr></table>
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<p>
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