%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% % WELCOME TO iCAS % % The core of iCAS is based on REDUCE, a % powerful CAS system with comparable % capabilities to Maple and Mathematica % with a track record spanning over 40 years % in academic and research institutions. % iCAS brings all the capabilities of % REDUCE and the embedded gnuplot % plotting engine to your iPhone or iPod % touch. % % Best of all, iCAS is entirely self-contained % and runs natively on your iPhone or iPod % touch so no internet connection is required % to harness its power. % % This file is written as a short tutorial % to walk you through some simple examples % to become familiar with the app and help % you get started. % %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% % BASIC USAGE % % Enter the desired command or operation % and press return to execute the command or % operation. Try it by tapping to the right of % the semicolon on the line below and then % tapping return. 6 * 7; % If fancy output is enabled, the results can be % viewed in a typeset format by tapping a % translucent button that appears on the upper % right hand corner of this view when there is % fancy output or when iCAS detects LaTeX % content. The output view can be zoomed % using the standard pinch gestures. % % Fancy output can be globally enabled with % the "Create Fancy Output" setting or on a % case by case basis using the fancy switch. % If fancy output is enabled and the % "Automatically Show" option is enabled, % iCAS will automatically show the rendered % fancy output when it is generated. % % Execute the following lines (i.e. place the % cursor to the right of the semicolon and tap % the return key) to see the difference % between plain and fancy output. df(x^x,x); on fancy; df(x^x,x); % Notice the pseudo-LaTeX output format % and the "TeX" translucent button that % appeared on the top right of the window. % Tapping the "TeX" button generates a % typeset version of the file that can be % optionally emailed as a LaTeX source file % for publishing, presentation, and/or sharing % with colleagues. % % Fancy output works best with a line length % of 80 or more. iCAS sets the linelength to % the optimal width for plain output when a % CAS session is started based on the font % style and size settings. Therefore, we % recommend setting the linelength to 80 % when using fancy output. iCAS provides a % convenience command called fancy_output % that sets the fancy switch and sets the % linelength to 80 characters. Note that % turning the fancy switch off does not % affect the linelength so you may need to % set the linelength to an appropriate value % after using fancy output. The linelength % is reset when a new CAS session is % initiated (e.g. by using either the "bye" % or "quit" command). % %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% % KEYBOARD USAGE % % By default, iCAS uses the system keyboard. % A user configurable macro keyboard and a % numerical keyboard are also optionally % available. The enabled keyboards and the % default keyboard can be configured in the % app Settings. The app Settings can be % accessed either through the global Settings % app or by tapping the Settings button on % the top right corner of the screen. % % To switch between the enabled keyboards, % use a horizontal swipe gesture in the text % area when a keyboard is active. % % To dismiss the keyboard, tap the center of % the top bar where "Welcome" is currently % displayed) or tap the "dismiss" keyboard % button above the keyboard if the "Arrow % Keys" setting is enabled. This restores % access to the toolbar butons. % % By default, tapping a button other than % the "CLEAR" or "BATCH" buttons on the % macro keyboard causes the active keyboard % to automatically switch to the system % keyboard to allow entry of variables, % parameters, arguments, etc. This behavior % can be enabled/disabled using the "Auto % Hide Macros" setting. % % Tap the clear line below to active the % keyboard and swipe from right to left to % reveal the macro keyboard. Now tap the % "integral" button. % Now double tap "function" and replace it % with some function of x, say x, to keep it % quick and simple. Then execute the line. % Unless you've disabled fancy output, iCAS % will have output a pseudo-LaTeX output % that you can view by tapping the "TeX" % button at the top right. Go ahead and tap it % to see the output in the LaTeX viewer. % % Tapping return on the system keyboard % can be configured to automatically switch % to the macro keyboard to enable the entry % of other CAS commands. This is controlled % by the "Return Shows Macros" setting. % % To edit the contents of a macro button, tap % and hold down the button for 1 second or % longer. % % Instances of \n in macros get automatically % converted into new lines. This makes it % possible to create macros with text % spanning multiple lines. % % Assigning \r to a macro button turns that % button into a silent return key. That is, % it inserts a new line character without % processing the contents of the line. % % Assigning \b to a macro button turns that % button into a backspace/delete key. % % Assigning \c to a macro button turns that % button into a clear key. % % Assigning \cb to a macro button turns that % button into a clear batch output key. The % macro has no effect if there is no batch % output. % % The cursor placement within a macro can be % optionally specified by including \^ in % the macro where the cursor should be after % the macro is inserted. For example, the % macro “(\^)” will cause the cursor to be % placed between the two parentheses. % % The macro buttons can be optionally % labelled by including the desired label % surrounded by the # character in the macro % text. For example, if a macro contains % #LABEL# in its definition, the button will % display LABEL in a larger font instead of % the actual contents of the macro. % % The following labels (in uppercase) are % automatically displayed with the % mathematical symbol for the corresponding % CAS operator/constant: DF, E, I, % INFINITY, INT, PI, PROD, and SUM. % % The default integral, derivative, pi, and % infinity buttons are examples that utilize % these features. % %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% % PLOTTING % % iCAS includes a full implementation of % gnuplot that can be accessed in CAS mode % using the gnuplot package or directly in % plot mode (more on modes later). By % default, iCAS loads the gnuplot package so % unless you changed the "Always Load % gnuplot" setting, it should already be % loaded. % % By default, iCAS automatically shows % newly generated or updated plots. This % behavior can be disabled in the global % settings. % % Plots can be magnified using the standard % pinch gestures. iCAS supports landscape % orientations in all its views so plots can be % viewed in either portrait or landscape % orientations. Execute the line below to % see plotting in action and use the pinch % gesture to zoom in/out and swipe gestures % to pan around the plot while zoomed in. plot(sin(x)); % Unless specified, iCAS uses the title "iCAS % Plot" and the file name "CASPlot" for plot % files. The default plot title can be changed % in the app Settings and can also be set % on a per plot basis. Execute the below line % to see an example. plot(cos(x), title="cos(x)", output="cos(x)"); % Plot files can be accessed by tapping the % "folder" button on the right side of the % bottom toolbar. Go ahead and dismiss the % keyboard (tap "Welcome" above) and tap % the button now. % % The files organizer picker has four wheels. % One for text files such as this one, one for % plot files, one for REDUCE inout files, and % one for macro keyboard files. Aim the left % picker wheel to view the corresponding % files. Files can be deleted, emailed, or % viewed/selected with the buttons above the % picker wheels. % % The displayed contents can be emailed, % copied, or printed by tapping the "send" % button button on the right side of the bottom % toolbar. Text files are emailed using the % active font style. The ont style, font size, % and colors can be configured using the styles % panel revealed by tapping the "styles" button % on the left of the bottom toolbar. The % available font styles are "Helvetica", % "Times", and "Courier". Although not the % prettiest, Courier can be optimal as it is % the closest to a monospace font on iOS % devices. % % Plots can be emailed in SVG format which % is a resolution independent format % supported by major browsers including % Safari and FireFox. % %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% % OPERATION MODES % % iCAS supports three operation modes. % % • CAS Mode % • Plot Mode % • Text Editor Mode % % By default, the application's color theme % changes to indicate the active mode. This % color feedback behavior can be disabled in % the app Settings, if desired. % % In CAS mode (the current mode unless % you've changed the mode with the mode % controls switch in the middle of the % toolbar), iCAS behaves as a terminal % interface to the CAS engine. % % In Plot mode, iCAS behaves as a direct % terminal interface to the gnuplot engine. % Go ahead and dismiss the keyboard and tap % the "plot" mode button (the button with a % graph) to switch to Plot mode. Then % execute each of the following lines in % sequence. This is an example straight from % the gnuplot demonstration samples web % page. set output "3D Log" set title "3D Log" set samples 30; set isosamples 30 set hidden3d set pm3d set surface set view 50,220 set xrange [-2:2] set yrange [-2:2] splot log(x*x*y*y) % As you can see, iCAS accepts gnuplot % commands directly. % % In Text Editor mode, iCAS behaves as a % plain text editor. Pressing return does not % invoke either CAS or plot operations. This % mode is useful for general-purpose text % editing, to create input files for batch % execution (described below), to % create/preview LaTeX documents, etc. % % The active file is automatically saved when % the application is quit/placed in the % background or when a new file is opened. % % There may be times when you need to abort % the active CAS session. To abort a CAS % session that is idle, simply use the % REDUCE "bye" or "quit" command. A % new session will be automatically restarted. % To abort a CAS session that is busy, tap % the "Abort" button that replaces the % "Settings" button while iCAS is busy. Set % the mode to CAS mode using the mode % buttons and go ahead and abort the CAS % session using the following example that % intentionally invokes a very long for-loop. for i:=0:10000000 do j:=i; %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% % BATCH OPERATION % % In addition to the interactive operation % that we've just used, iCAS supports batch % execution of entire file contents. That % is, iCAS can process the entire contents % of the active file either in CAS mode or % Plot mode. To do so, use the special % "BATCH" macro keyboard button. Unlike % interactive results which are output at the % current cursor location, CAS mode batch % execution results are appended to the end % of the file surrounded by "%%% Begin Batch % Results" and "%%% End Batch Results" so % they can be easily located with a quick % search. % % Plot mode results are of course the creation % of plot files. Note that plot files are % not automatically shown when they are % generated in batch mode. To view batch % generated plot files, please use the files % picker. % % Now, this file contains interactive output % from the examples that we've run so if you % process this file in batch mode, it will % result in errors. Therefore, please try % batch execution using one of the example % files. % %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% % FOR MORE INFORMATION % % We hope that you found this tutorial % helpful. You'll find more examples for % various areas in the files picker. You % will also find more information in the % iCAS FAQ at the following URL. % % http://alsoftiphone.com/iCAS/faq % % Last but not least, if you have any questions % or feedback, please don't hesitate to contact % us at support@alsoftiphone.com. You can % quickly do so by tapping the "Contact % Support"button at the bottom of the app % Settings. % % We hope that you will find iCAS a useful % companion for your computation needs. % % Best Regards, % AL Software % %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%