Computer algebra: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:36, 28 December 2022

Revision as of 15:39, 28 December 2022

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==== Expressions ====

[[File:Cassidy.1985.015.gif|thumb|400px|Representation of the expression (8-6)*&times;(3+1) as a [[Lisp (programming language)|Lisp]] tree, from a 1985 Master's Thesis.<ref>{{cite thesis | type=Master's thesis | url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_feasibility_of_automatic_storage_reclamation_with_concurrent_program_execution_in_a_LISP_environment._(IA_feasibilityofaut00cass).pdf | author=Kevin G. Cassidy | title=The Feasibility of Automatic Storage Reclamation with Concurrent Program Execution in a LISP Environment | institution=Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey/CA | date=Dec 1985 }} Here: p.15</ref>]]

Except for [[number]]s and [[variable (mathematics)|variables]], every [[Expression (mathematics)|mathematical expression]] may be viewed as the symbol of an operator followed by a [[sequence]] of operands. In computer algebra software, the expressions are usually represented in this way. This representation is very flexible, and many things that seem not to be mathematical expressions at first glance, may be represented and manipulated as such. For example, an equation is an expression with "=" as an operator, a matrix may be represented as an expression with "matrix" as an operator and its rows as operands.