Wolfram Research Introduces Linguistically Controlled Computing in Mathematica 8

By DE Editors

Wolfram Research has released Mathematica 8, the latest version of its flagship computation, development, and deployment platform that introduces the concept of linguistically controlled computing. Integrating technology of Wolfram|Alpha, the Mathematica-powered computational knowledge engine, makes it possible to enter math or data calculations in plain English and get immediate answers or start an analysis, according to the company.

"Traditionally, getting computers to perform tasks requires speaking their language or using point-and-click interfaces. One requires learning syntax, the other limits scope of accessible functions," says Stephen Wolfram, CEO and founder of Wolfram Research. "Free-form linguistics understands human language and translates it into syntax-a breakthrough in usability. Mathematica 8 is the start of this initiative, but already it is making a real difference to user productivity."

Free-form input is a new entry point into the Mathematica idea-to-deployment workflow, but Mathematica 8 adds a new endpoint too: generation of C code and standalone executables.

"It's amazing that you can start with free-form linguistic input, model or prototype, and end up with a high-performance standalone program or library ... all within Mathematica 8's comprehensive workflow," says Tom Wickham-Jones, director of Kernel Technology at Wolfram Research.

Other additions in Mathematica 8 include more than 500 new functions in many application areas, including:

• Probability and statistics: large collection of statistical distributions and automatic high-level solvers including parameter estimation.
• Software development: built-in GPU support, automatic code generation and linking, multicore parallelism, and standalone code deployment.
• Engineering: integrated control systems and wavelet analysis.
• Graphs and networks: extensive built-in support for the new science of networks.
• Finance: built-in option pricing solvers, financial indicators, and charts.
• Image processing: enhanced image analysis capabilities, such as feature detection.

Mathematica 8 is available now for Windows XP/Vista/7, Mac OS X, Linux x86, and compatible systems.

For more information, visit Mathematica.

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