mwang@watmath.UUCP (mwang) (07/02/85)
DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO
SEMINAR ACTIVITIES
COMPUTER SCIENCE COLLOQUIUM
- Wednesday, July 10, 1985.
R.D. Jenks of IBM, Yorktown Heights, will speak on
``The SCRATCHPAD II Computer Algebra System.''
TIME: 3:30 PM
ROOM: MC 5158
ABSTRACT
This talk presents ongoing research over the past 8
years at IBM Research on a new implementation of the
SCRATCHPAD system for interactive computer algebra.
The new system has a programming language with extensi-
ble, parameterized, and dynamically constructible
types.
The system provides a single high-level language with
an interpreter and compiler. This language can be used
both by the naive user for convenient interactive
mathematical calculations and by the advanced user for
the efficient implementation of algorithms. Although
especially designed for computer algebra, the language
provides data abstraction and hiding mechanisms which
generalize those found in such languages as CLU, Modula
II, and Ada. Unlike existing systems such as MACSYMA,
system components have no global variable interdepen-
dencies and are written in the high-level language so
that there is no penalty for user extension.
The system will made available from CSNET, Arpanet, and
Telenet to a limited number of universities and
research centers in Summer, 1985, for test and evalua-
tion.
Coffee and refreshments will be served at 3:00 PM.
July 2, 1985