My enthusiasm about Mathematica 6 continues.
I have spent the last two hours examing the Documentation of
NIntegrate.

http://reference.wolfram.com/mathematica/tutorial/NIntegrateOverview.html

Quantum steps has taken in all fields!

From documentation to strategies/tips/options/algorithms!

Nasser Abbasi <nma@12000.org> wrote:
I am running Mathematica 6 right now.

I think I am the first one in the world using the student version they
started selling it few hrs ago. on-line.

I've been told it might be as long as a week before all Premier Service
subscribers have been sent the email with the download info. Bleah.

I find the new help system (at least in its web incarnation) to be almost
completely opaque. Rather than a clearly communicated documentation
hierarchy I now have to figure out which of over 80 first-level sections
in seven somewhat arbitrary categories the information I'm looking for
might be found.

It (the new help) is pretty, and probably great if you already know the
answer to your question (but then that's really the first rule of
all symbolic math systems )

What happens to all the applications and add-ons that were based around
the old help subsystem?

I rather like the detailed documentation pages once you find them, but
I really want the old browser interface and hierarchy back I think.

Is "The Mathematica Book" dead at this point? Any narrative about how
to actually use the software seems to be completely gone now. Bleah
again.

"dimitris" <dimmechan@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1178196482.440785.321170@h2g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
My enthusiasm about Mathematica 6 continues.
I have spent the last two hours examing the Documentation of
NIntegrate.

http://reference.wolfram.com/mathematica/tutorial/NIntegrateOverview.html

Quantum steps has taken in all fields!

From documentation to strategies/tips/options/algorithms!



hi Dimitris;

Do you know how to get the same help system in 5.2 to show up in 6.0?

"dimitris" <dimmechan@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1178196482.440785.321170@h2g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
My enthusiasm about Mathematica 6 continues.
I have spent the last two hours examing the Documentation of
NIntegrate.

http://reference.wolfram.com/mathematica/tutorial/NIntegrateOverview.html

Quantum steps has taken in all fields!

From documentation to strategies/tips/options/algorithms!


hi Dimitris;

Do you know how to get the same help system in 5.2 to show up in 6.0? I
posted this below to Mathematica newsgroup (but it takes days to get an
answer there)

"When I click on help in Mathematica 6, the familiar help interface is all
gone.

Now one gets a new thing called Documentation center.

I much prefer the old help interface. It was clear, and easy to use. The new
one is hard to use and now one does not know where everything else is. There
is no place to even enter something to search for. One must start by erasing
the string "grid/Mathematica" from the little window at the top to clear it
out. Very annoying. before things where laid out in tabs. Now everything is
a link and one must keep clicking on links all the time.

Is there a way to tell Mathematica 6 to use the old help interface (same
help as in 5.2)? I looked as some options and such, but none there. I wish
they kept the old help system there for those who want to use it.

Nasser"

"Dave Seaman" <dseaman@no.such.host> wrote in message
news:f1dbaq$i0b$1@mailhub227.itcs.purdue.edu...
On Thu, 03 May 2007 18:27:31 -0000, Gavin Scott wrote:
Nasser Abbasi <nma@12000.org> wrote:
I am running Mathematica 6 right now.

....

I find the new help system (at least in its web incarnation) to be almost
completely opaque. Rather than a clearly communicated documentation
hierarchy I now have to figure out which of over 80 first-level sections
in seven somewhat arbitrary categories the information I'm looking for
might be found.


Agreed. I'm hoping it will get easier after I have browsed a bit more.


I hate the new Mathematica help system. It is just links after links. One
needs to keep clicking on links, and then go back again. As if one is inside
a browser not a help system.

Do you have a copy of Mathematica 6?
I am interested in the Students Edition but as far as I know
they haven't yet started selling.

Dimitris

"dimitris" <dimmechan@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1178196482.440785.321170@h2g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
My enthusiasm about Mathematica 6 continues.
I have spent the last two hours examing the Documentation of
NIntegrate.

http://reference.wolfram.com/mathematica/tutorial/NIntegrateOverview.html

Quantum steps has taken in all fields!

From documentation to strategies/tips/options/algorithms!


hi Dimitris;

Do you know how to get the same help system in 5.2 to show up in 6.0? I
posted this below to Mathematica newsgroup (but it takes days to get an
answer there)

"When I click on help in Mathematica 6, the familiar help interface is all
gone.

Now one gets a new thing called Documentation center.

I much prefer the old help interface. It was clear, and easy to use. The
new
one is hard to use and now one does not know where everything else is.
There
is no place to even enter something to search for. One must start by
erasing
the string "grid/Mathematica" from the little window at the top to clear
it
out. Very annoying. before things where laid out in tabs. Now everything
is
a link and one must keep clicking on links all the time.

Is there a way to tell Mathematica 6 to use the old help interface (same
help as in 5.2)? I looked as some options and such, but none there. I wish
they kept the old help system there for those who want to use it.

Nasser"

I am running Mathematica 6 right now.

I think I am the first one in the world using the student version they
started selling it few hrs ago. on-line.

On Thu, 03 May 2007 18:27:31 -0000, Gavin Scott wrote:
Nasser Abbasi <nma@12000.org> wrote:
I am running Mathematica 6 right now.

.....

I find the new help system (at least in its web incarnation) to be almost
completely opaque. Rather than a clearly communicated documentation
hierarchy I now have to figure out which of over 80 first-level sections
in seven somewhat arbitrary categories the information I'm looking for
might be found.


Agreed. I'm hoping it will get easier after I have browsed a bit more.

It (the new help) is pretty, and probably great if you already know the
answer to your question (but then that's really the first rule of
all symbolic math systems )

What happens to all the applications and add-ons that were based around
the old help subsystem?

I rather like the detailed documentation pages once you find them, but
I really want the old browser interface and hierarchy back I think.

Is "The Mathematica Book" dead at this point? Any narrative about how
to actually use the software seems to be completely gone now. Bleah
again.

Under 5.2 there was a Documentation/English/MainBook with a notebook for
each section. There seems to be no such thing with 6.0.

I suspect there
probably isn't even a printed version. However, there is a
Documentation/English/System/ReferencePages that probably contains much
of the same information. It's just arranged differently.


--
Dave Seaman
Oral Arguments in Mumia Abu-Jamal Case to be heard May 17
U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
http://www.abu-jamal-news.com/

I have been able to find things by using the search box. My number one
wish is for tabbed browsing.

Dave Seaman <dseaman@no.such.host> wrote:
I have been able to find things by using the search box. My number one
wish is for tabbed browsing.

Some sort of history would be nice, as I find myself getting into loops
as A leads to B then to C then to D which has a link to A, and since A,
B, C, and D all have similar names I'm not always sure whether I've seen
A already.

Each documentation page seems to sit in complete isolation with no
context,
so you're at the mercy of whoever chose the "SEE ALSO" links as to
whether you can find your way to where you want to be, or guess that
there might be some "nearby" feature that would be of interest. It
seems to be impossible to simply browse the documentation in any
sort of order.

The "Tutorials" are interesting, yet there seems to be no way to find
out what tutorial documents exist short of having them suggested to you
because you visited a page that links to them.

I have found the search results to be surprisingly useless when looking
for anything in the way of general information. You typically get a
list of low-level function documentaiton pages.

Some searches that I tried included "tutorial", "getting started", and
"unified architecture" which left me thinking that the Mathematica 6
documentation search is almost completely useless.

I cannot imagine a new user being left with only this as their learning
tool for the software. I guess it will sell more "Introduction to
Mathematica" books though.

I've always thought that the documentation browser was one of the best
things in Mathematica. I really liked the way addons could integrate
into it as well.

Oh well.

G.

I hate the new Mathematica help system. It is just links after links. One
needs to keep clicking on links, and then go back again. As if one is inside
a browser not a help system.

...
"Hello,

Thank you for the email. I understand that the Documentation Center is very
different from the help browser we've all been used to the past 19 years.
The documentation center has been completely rewritten to include new
technology and new features, and there is not a way to have Mathematica 6..0
use the old help browser to view Mathematica 6 documentation. It may take
some time to get used to, but it is actually now much more powerful than the
help browser used to be.

For one, the searches through the search bar now use an advanced search
engine which will actually search the content of all the documentation as
well as other sources and will give you much better results. Information is
now sorted into boxes on the homepage instead of tabs. The Documentation
Center is also now connects with Wolfram data servers to dynamically obtain
and update new content for you as well. Not to mention the documentation is
now much more expansive with many, many more useful examples.

Given some time, I'm sure you will come to appreciate the new features and
power.

Sincerely,"

I hate the new Mathematica help system. It is just links after links. One
needs to keep clicking on links, and then go back again. As if one is
inside
a browser not a help system.

...
"Hello,

Thank you for the email. I understand that the Documentation Center is
very
different from the help browser we've all been used to the past 19 years.
The documentation center has been completely rewritten to include new
technology and new features, and there is not a way to have Mathematica
6.0
use the old help browser to view Mathematica 6 documentation. It may take
some time to get used to, but it is actually now much more powerful than
the
help browser used to be.

For one, the searches through the search bar now use an advanced search
engine which will actually search the content of all the documentation as
well as other sources and will give you much better results. Information
is
now sorted into boxes on the homepage instead of tabs. The Documentation
Center is also now connects with Wolfram data servers to dynamically
obtain
and update new content for you as well. Not to mention the documentation
is
now much more expansive with many, many more useful examples.

Given some time, I'm sure you will come to appreciate the new features and
power.

Sincerely,"

I've been told it might be as long as a week before all Premier Service
subscribers have been sent the email with the download info. Bleah.