[comp.text.desktop] mathematical editor

butterwo@cassatt.cs.unc.edu (Jeff Butterworth) (09/29/89)

	As a physics major and computer programmer, I've spent much of my
life scratching away with pencil and paper, creating equations that would
choke a horse.  Some of these babies take three lines of notebook paper and
contain every special squiggle my math professor could dig out of his medieval
calculus torture books.  I know that premature arthritis has always been a
healthy part of every scientist's training, but I've suffered long enough.
	What I want to know is, is there any editor out there that will allow
me to manipulate equations and other mathematical symbols?  It doesn't have
to do any calculations at all. (That's my job.)  I just want to be able to
do my homework on the computer, like all the English and Psych majors.
Surely there's something that will let me do the basic word processing tasks
like cutting and pasting, but will also let me type in a messy fraction and
then put a square root sign around it.
	The only kind of program that I've seen that comes close is a paint
program.  I wouldn't mind creating all of the special symbols in mac-draw,
but actually putting them together in each new situation would be a tedious
nightmare.  And I'm not even going to go near complicated text formating
packages like eqn for UNIX.  Those require more time to use than just
grabbing a no.2 pencil and a sheet of notebook paper, and the encoded info
is far from WYSIWYG.
	I would prefer something for the IBM PC, but I would even hop on a
Mac or X-Windows if I could type in equations.
	Can anyone give me some pointers?  Thanks in advance.

P.S. Please respond through e-mail if possible.  If there is sufficient
response, then I will post a summary to the net.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Between two evils, I always choose the one I haven't tried." - Mae West

Jeff Butterworth
Home: 509 N. Columbia St., Chapel Hill, NC 27516  (919) 933-1394
School: 235 Sitterson, UNC-Chapel Hill, NC 27599  (919) 962-1719
	butterwo@cs.unc.edu
Work: Data General (Graphics Group), Research Triangle Park, NC
	butterwo@dg-rtp.dg.com
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wilkins@jarthur.Claremont.EDU (Mark Wilkins) (10/01/89)

    Yeah, there is something roughly like what you want in a couple of forms
on the Macintosh.  
    Two programs I know of, MathType and Expressionist, allow you to create
mathematical expressions laid out properly on the page and export them to
word processing programs.

    I am not too sure of MathType's capabilities, but Expressionist allows
you to do such things as define your own symbols and even will produce
text-only output in eqn format, Microsoft Word's equation format, or TeX
format.
    When you open the Expressionist desk accessory you are faced with a
blank work area and a palette of different mathematical constructs off to
one side.  You click on, say, an integral symbol, and an integral sign
appears, allowing you to fill in boxes with limits of integration and the
integrand.
    MathType allows certain things to be done more easily, such as closed path
integrals, but Expressionist produces more pleasing output, especially on
laser printers, and has an easier-to-use interface for more basic stuff.  I
do not know who publishes MathType, but Expressionist is published by Allan
Bonadio Associates.  Both are advertised fairly regularly in MacWorld.  If
access to a Mac is not a problem, either of these packages will make you
wonder how you ever got along before.

                         -- Mark Wilkins
                            (wilkins@jarthur.claremont.edu)

usenet@cps3xx.UUCP (Usenet file owner) (10/03/89)

I've got one even better than that for you.  Try MathCad.  It does what
you want, and, it will solve those equations for you also!  I've used it
for about 2 years now.

In the rare case that original ideas   Kenneth J. Hendrickson    N8DGN
are found here, I am responsible.      Owen W328, E. Lansing, MI 48825
Internet: hendrick@frith.egr.msu.edu   UUCP: ...!uunet!frith!hendrick

lwh@harpsichord.cis.ohio-state.edu (Loyde W Hales) (10/04/89)

I've another suggestion similiar to MathCad.  Try Borland's ``Eureka, The
Solver.''  It isn't as nice as MathCad for presentation, but it does have a
full presentation manager.  More importantly, it is quite inexpensive for
what you get.  It will do IBM clones, Macs, and Atari.

-=-

                                Department of Computer and Information Science
Loyde W. Hales, II                      The Ohio State University
lwh@cis.ohio-state.edu          2036 Neil Avenue Mall, Columbus, Ohio  43201

roland@cochise (10/10/89)

butterwo@cassatt.cs.unc.edu (Jeff Butterworth) writes:
>	What I want to know is, is there any editor out there that will allow
>me to manipulate equations and other mathematical symbols?  It doesn't have
>to do any calculations at all. (That's my job.)  I just want to be able to
>do my homework on the computer, like all the English and Psych majors.
>Surely there's something that will let me do the basic word processing tasks
>like cutting and pasting, but will also let me type in a messy fraction and
>then put a square root sign around it.
>	I would prefer something for the IBM PC, but I would even hop on a
>Mac or X-Windows if I could type in equations.
>	Can anyone give me some pointers?  Thanks in advance.

Once upon a time (1985 :-) when I was still studying mathematled "SIGNUM!"
( really SIGNUM!2 in the meantime ) and runs (exclusively) on any Atari ST.

( I know that this machine has a 'games only' image in the US and lacks
professional support - in Germany the situation is very different - , but 
when the software was designed,
we expacted it would be more expensive than the hardware anyway,
so Franz selected the machine most suitable for this kind of
fast graphic character operations, expecting all customers to
buy the same - and really, quite a number of ST
have been sold just to run Signum! on it ).

Disclaimer: I'm a friend of the autor. And I like Signum!



             I know that You believe You understand what You think I said, but
             I'm not sure You realize that what You heard is not what I meant.

Roland Rambau

  rra@cochise.pcs.com,   {unido|pyramid}!pcsbst!rra,   2:507/414.2.fidonet 

Sorry, if my signature is included twice - this is intentional, since
we have a line-eater bug in this weeks mail software ( we are regularyly
testing our software til it breaks :-)