Maple Syntax and Built-in Data Capabilities

Syntax

As with any computer language, Maple has its own syntax.  As a new user of Maple, you can save yourself a lot of head-scratching if you get to know these symbols.

Enter the commands given or make up similar problems.

Symbol	Description	Examples	Sample Output
;	End-of-line.  Tells Maple to process the line and show the output.	hello;	hello
:	End-of-line.  Tells Maple to process the line and hide the output.	hello:
:=	Assignment.  Lets you assign values to variables.	a := 3; a;	a := 3 3
+, -	Addition, subtraction.	1 + 3; 1 - 3;	4 -2
*, /	Multiplication, division	3*412; 1236/3; 7/3;	1236 412 7/3
^, sqrt	Power, square root	2^3; sqrt(2); 2^(1/2);	8
evalf, .	Floating-point (decimal) evaluation	evalf(7/3); 7.0/3;	2.333333333 2.333333333
I,Pi	Imaginary unit, Pi.	2 + 3*I; (2*I)^2; evalf(Pi);	2+3I -4 3.141592654
%, %%	Recall the last output, recall the second-to-last output, etc.	%; %%%;	3.141592654 -4

Some syntactical caveats:

• Maple is case sensitive.  foo, Foo, and FOO are three different things.
• Maple requries you to show multiplication with the * character. Entering x*y gives the product of x and y, but entering xy gives one variable with the name xy.
• To get the constant e use exp(1).
• Using the % operator can give confusing results.  It always returns the last output from the Kernel, which may have nothing to do with where the cursor is (or which worksheet is active).
• If Maple doesn't recognize something, it will assume it is a variable. For example, typing i^2 will give you i², while you may have wanted -1.
• You can move your cursor up to a previous line, press Enter, and the line will re-execute.
• When copying and pasting using a mouse, by sure to also highlight the execution group symbol ([).  If you don't, the lines will be pasted in reverse order due to a bug.
• Spaces are optional.
• Greek letters may be entered by spelling their name.  For example, alpha is always displayed as , and Gamma is displayed as  (note upper-case).

Built-in Data Capabilities

Maple can handle arbitrary-precision floating point numbers.  In other words, Maple can store as many digits for a number as you like, up to the physical limits of your computer's memory.  To control this, use the Digits variable.

Maple sets Digits to be 10 by default. You can also temporarily get precision results by calling evalf with a second argument.

Large integers are handled automatically.