For a more complete introduction to MapleV.3 commands used in undergraduate mathematics courses see Multivariable Mathematics with Maple . (Note: This guide to Maple has not been updated for Version 4 of Maple V.)
Ordinary arithmetic is pretty much what you would expect. Notice that calculations are done in decimal form if you use decimal form in the command. They are carried out in exact form, using algebraic manipulation, if the numbers in the original question are given as integers instead of decimals:
[> 1.2 + 3.5; [> (1 + 2)*(3 + 4) - 5/7; [> (1.0 + 2)*(3 + 4) - 5/7;The number Pi is built-in. You can work with the exact value or with a decimal approximation. The function name evalf means "evaluate in floating point". When working with computers, floating point is a synonym for decimal form.
[> Pi; [> Pi + exp(1); [> evalf(Pi + exp(1)); # Convert to decimal formWe can define functions in Maple. In this example, we define a function that gives the area of a circle in terms of its radius.
[> area := r -> Pi*r^2; # define a function area
[> area(10), area(10.2), area(20);
[> evalf(");
The trigonometric functions are included in the Maple package.
We also have the inverse trigonometric functions, the natural
logarithm, the base 10 logarithm, the natural exponential function,
square roots, absolute values etc.
[> sin(Pi/4), cos(Pi/4), tan(Pi/4), cot(Pi/4), sec(Pi/4), csc(Pi/4); [> arcsin(1/2), arccos(1/2), arctan(1); [> ln(1), log(1), ln(10), log(10), log(exp(2)); [> exp(ln(1)), exp(2), exp(2.0), exp(-ln(3)); [> 2^2, 2^3, 2^4, 2^5, 2^6, 2^7, 2^8, 2^(-1.4); [> sqrt(10.5), sqrt(44), sqrt(144), sqrt(1.2^2 + 1.5^2); [> abs(-5); abs(x)/x;The basic Maple command for generating graphs is plot. Some examples:
[> plot( sin(x), x = 0..Pi );
[> plot({sin(x), cos(x)}, x = 0..Pi);
[> data := [ [1.0, 3.2], [2.0, 1.1], [3.0, 4.3]];
[> plot(data);
[> plot(data, style = point);
[> plot(data, style = line);
We can also plot functions of more than one variable. The
graph of a function of two variables is a surface in 3-space.
[> plot3d( sin(x)*cos(y), x = 0..Pi, y = 0..Pi, axes = framed);Maple has built-in help files available. The help menus at the top right of your Maple window are quite useful. If you want to get more information about a particular command or feature, you can use ? together with the command name:
[> ?plot # Look at Help file for plot
# Ctrl-F4 closes a help window
[> ?index
[> ?index, function
[> ?solve
[> eq := x^4 - 5*x^2 + 6*x = 2; solve( eq, x);