[Texmacs-dev] Introduction

[Bob McElrath]

Hello, I just joined the mailing list and thought I'd introduce myself.
I'm interested in improving texmacs, and in particular the maxima (and
maybe maple) interfaces.  I speak C++ and learned scheme a few years go
but I will have to re-learn my lisp/scheme and maxima itself.  I have
also used mathematica quite a bit and use maple almost daily in my work.

After years of frustration with both maple and mathematica, not to
mention serious philosophical differences, I'm throwing my hat in the
ring.  I would have switched earlier if it were not for the serious
learning curve to any symbolic math program.

Because the learning curve is huge I'm going to start small so I can
learn maxima, so throw simple problems at me and I will see what I can
do.  Here are some things I ran into in the last couple of days:
    1) when maxima asks a question the interface hangs.  i.e.
    describe().
    2) I tried entering a sum:  sum(1/x,x,1,10) using the math input
    method, and found that I could enter: "sum(1,10,1/x;" but texmacs
    did not add the closing paren, and the arguments are in the wrong
    order.
    3) I managed to hang texmacs a couple times.

By trade I am a theoretical particle physicist, my symbolic work these
days involves lagrangians in particle physics, tensors, and matrices.
Also clasical groups and lie algebras as they apply to particle physics.
Also I am interested in GiNaC/GTybalt as these are written by and for
physicists.  They seem less complete than maxima.

Cheers,
Bob McElrath [Univ. of California at Davis, Department of Physics]

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