Wolfram|Alpha Officially Launches

By DE Editors

Wolfram Alpha LLC has announced the general availability of Wolfram|Alpha, computational knowledge engine offered for free on the Web.

Wolfram|Alpha draws on scientist Stephen Wolfram's work on the Mathematica technical computing software platform, and on the discoveries he published in his book, "A New Kind of Science."

The long-term goal of Wolfram|Alpha is to make all systematic knowledge immediately computable and accessible to everyone. Wolfram|Alpha draws on multiple terabytes of curated data and synthesizes it into new combinations and presentations. The service answers questions, solves equations, cross-references data types, projects future behaviors, and more.

Wolfram|Alpha is made up of four main "pillars" or components:

• Curated Data. Wolfram|Alpha contains terabytes of factual data covering a range of fields. Teams of subject-matter experts and researchers collect and curate data, transforming it into computable forms that can be understood and operated on by computer algorithms.
• Dynamic Computation. When Wolfram|Alpha receives a user query, it extracts the relevant facts from its stored computable data and then applies a collection of tens of thousands of algorithms, creating and synthesizing new relevant knowledge.
• Intuitive Language Understanding. To allow Wolfram|Alpha to understand inputs entered in everyday language, its developers examine the ways people express ideas within fields and subject matters and continually refine algorithms that automatically recognize these patterns.
• Computational Aesthetics. Wolfram|Alpha also represents a new approach to user-interface design. The service takes user inputs and builds a customized page of clearly and usefully presented computed knowledge.

For more information, visit Wolfram|Alpha.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.