 "A vast ocean covering the world of mathematica, but only 1 inch deep." | 2009-10-22 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2VLH0R0UP9ULJ |
I believe this book was written to used up as many pages as possible. The structure of the book is as follows. The author presents an idea in about two sentences (which has less insight than Mathematica's own help file), then demonstrates the idea with a series of one-line Mathematica statements over several pages. The statements are all very similar to each other, and the same ideas are repeated from one chapter to the next. Rather than presenting abstract ideas, the author iterates over many possible configurations of a command.
In short, this book is an iteration over many combinations of Mathematica symbols. The book is broad in scope, but is thin on insight.
Be sure to check out a preview of this book before purchasing it. If you are looking for a reference that will hand you a statement to accomplish a particular task, maybe this is the book for you. If you are looking for a deep understanding of Mathematica, look elsewhere. |
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 "awesome masterpiece on Mathematica" | 2008-07-30 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1YILB2S3FPQ5R |
| The Mathematica Guidebooks suite consists of 4 thick awesome tomes-Programming, Graphics, Numerics and Symbolics- on the Mathematica software and its usage. The GUI frontend is not covered. The author is an acknowledged expert at Wolfram Research and the set of books is the result of his extensive usage and experimentation with the software. To use these books effectively, you must be knowledgeable in Mathematica as well as other areas like physics and computer science. For a start, you should read (not browse) The Mathematica Book by Stephen Wolfram (the creator of the software) from cover to cover. The DVD packaged with any of the GuideBooks contains the whole suite. The amazing graphics alone is worth the price. All programming code is on view. Bear in mind that the books were written before Mathematica 6 was released. So not everything about Mathematica is in these GuideBooks. I recommend that you check out Mathematica 6-especially the Manipulate command. |
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| "One of the most thorough books on ANY subject!" | 2008-01-10 |
| - Reviewed By cbailey139 |
Trott's 4 book set is an amazing achievement. The Programming volume is the most generally useful, and Trott suggests reading The Mathematica Book (by Wolfram) through, cover to cover, and then reading Trott's own books in the order Programming, Graphics, Numerics, Symbolics. So, start with Programming when reading Trott. I think following these instructions would be the best way to start from zero and master Mathematica.
It is hard to even consider all the information in here. I like areas others have discussed, like the Lambda calculus and the Metamathematica discussions. I also like that all 4 of the books are included, formatted as Mathematica Notebooks, on the DVD. The DVD that comes with any one volume contains that volume's notebooks already evaluated, and the other 3 volumes' notebooks unevaluated, and an unevaluated copy of that volume's notebooks, and the Table of Contents and Index and other infrastructural notebooks. So, while the hardcopy is very nice to have, I've also hunted around in the other volumes with great benefit.
It really makes no sense to compare these with Ruskeepaa's Mathematica Navigator, which is a nice example of the several books that help get one started with Mathematica. Trott is aiming at a whole different level. His explanations are more insightful, more complete. He discusses more topics.
Trott goes well beyond Wolfram's book. To quote him, "The four GuideBooks contain about 25,000 Mathematica inputs, representing more than 70,000 lines of commented Mathematica code. (For the reader already familiar with Mathematica, here is a more precise measure: The LeafCount of all inputs would be about 800,000 when collected in a list.) The GuideBooks also have more than 4,000 graphics, 100 animations, 8,000 references, and 1,000 exercises. More than 10,000 hyperlinked index entries and hundreds of hyperlinks from the overview sections connect all parts in a convenient way. The evaluated notebooks of all four volumes have a cumulative file size of about 10 GB."
Mathematica is a huge and powerful tool. As Mathematica is to other technical computing tools, Trott's set is to other Mathematica books. |
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| "A stunning triumph" | 2007-02-14 |
| - Reviewed By scut723 |
Michael is a world authority on Mathematica. His deep insight, fresh perspectives and Herculean writing have produced a singular volume. It is impossible to turn the pages without a sense of amazement. If you want to appreciate the power and beauty of Mathematica, there is no better choice.
Here we see Mathematica as used by a master. The instruction is top notch, the examples are superlative, the topics are fascinating.
I think the customer rating system shows a blemish in allowing someone to rate this book as a poor introduction. It is a guidebook, a survey of capabilities, and as such is superlative example. |
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| "A Treasure of Mathematica Information" | 2005-12-30 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2QSFHOUCD5ZA8 |
Michael Trott's skill, knowledge and enthusiasm regarding the use of
Mathematica in scientific research is extraordinarily impressive, as I
have found to my considerable
benefit from some extended professional contact.
His infectious passion is manifested very strongly in this Guidebook
(devoted to programming, with the subsequent three volumes --- already
available --- being
concerned with the topics of graphics, symbolics and numerics).
Chapter 1 ("Introduction to Mathematica")
alone contains close to twelve hundred
references to the scientific literature (mostly physics, mathematics
and engineering
in nature), pertaining to one application or another --- many of an
engaging/intriguing nature.
Each chapter includes a set of exercises and a detailed solution
proposal for each exercise.
It certainly behooves each reader to peruse the Table of Contents and the
Index to find the topics of most interest to him or her. Much valuable time
for the computer practitioner
can certainly be spent with simple browsing of this impressive work of
devotion and erudition.
Desirably, some of the virtuosity in the use of Mathematica, abundantly
exhibited here by Trott, can be acquired by the reader. |
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| "Pedagogical masterpiece" | 2005-11-06 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1DW2484KAH2U8 |
I purchased the Programming Guidebook with considerable hesitation; to all appearances the Guidebooks are intended for the discerning cognoscenti, whereas I am very much a Mathematica novice.
The Programming Guidebook turned out to be a pleasant surprise: while there is a vast amount of material that would benefit the expert, it is also a careful and patient instruction book for the beginner.
Mathematica is a complex system; at first acquaintance it appears to be a bewildering collection of expressions and ad hoc programming styles. This book is a pedagogical masterpiece: it brings order to this seeming chaos by revealing the underlying framework. Topics are organized into comprehensible groups and the author focuses on each in detail.
Some parts that particularly appealed to this reader:
The section in Chapter 1 on Solutions to "What you always wanted to compute". This is a wonderfully whimsical list of problems that the author has gathered over many years and each is backed up by several references. This section is an unexpected delight and following up on the references provides an education in itself. The very first paragraph in Chapter 2, where the author provides one of the keys to unraveling Mathematica. The section in Chapter 3 on lambda calculus, which clarifies the use of pure functions. The entire collection of topics in Chapter 4 on meta-Mathematica.
Chapter 5 deals with the topic that is probably most foreign to those like myself used to traditional languages, (Fortran, C, C++); the treatment in this chapter is outstanding. Chapter 6 shows how Mathematica uses lists as a unified approach for vectors, matrices and tensors. Be aware however, that the book does require a fair background in mathematics or physics, (bachelor's or above).
It is clear that this is a labor of love; the author is deeply excited by the capabilities of Mathematica, and does his best to share his enthusiasm with the reader. The result is an inspiring book that is richly deserving of high praise. To fellow novices aspiring to use Mathematica gainfully, I can recommend the Programming Guidebook without hesitation. With study and patience, this Guidebook will dramatically enhance your ability to use Mathematica successfully.
I still believe my path to skillful use of Mathematica is going to be a long one, but it does not matter - with a guide like this, I expect to enjoy the journey immensely.
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