Review of Mathematica 4.2

Release 4.2 is the latest version of the mathematical software package Mathematica, published by Wolfram Research (WR). It competes directly with the only other currently marketed high end integrated computer algebra system (CAS), Maple 8. I shall concentrate in this review on highlighting the new features concerned with optimization which I think have most relevance to the teaching/learning applications. Although there are very many improvements and new features in Mathematica 4.2, just as for the last upgrade, not many will have immediate impact in the classroom. In fact, WR have introduced a number of related products, including CalculationCenter, The Mathematical Explorer, webMathematica and Mathematica: Teacher’s Edition, aimed more directly at the teaching and fun sector…New features include linear and non-linear optimisation; new functions LinearProgramming, ConstrainedMin, NMinimize, FindMinimum are demonstrated. Although there are many improvements, the main thrust has been towards presentational, publishing and web developments...