Mathematica 6 premieres

Wolfram Research has released the latest version of its flagship product, Mathematica 6. The program is designed to ease the burden of performing complex research calculations; the new edition is designed to further expand and automate its functions, the latter through a concept called "instant interactivity." Wolfram claims the latest release can turn models, simulations, computations, and other forms of data into their own applications, often in a matter of seconds. The update expands functions with a new development environment (IDE), which should allow work on infrastructures as well as more routine analysis.

Mathematica 6 also includes automatic integration of hundreds of data formats alongside a library of curated "load-on-demand" data for fields such as math, physics, chemistry and linguistics. Symbolic interface construction allows users to build quick interfaces for simple programs, according to Wolfram. The Mac OS X version of Mathematica 6 costs $2,500 for a standard license, with prices varying for educational and governmental purchases.

by MacNN Staff