Thanks Riccardo; I recently tried Sage, but it errored out with a message that some research showed is a bug that was supposed to have been fixed with the latest release :P I haven't gotten around to trying an older release, yet, because compiling Sage takes forever and a half...<br>
<br>Aleix, I'm looking into KOffice's Flake shape library now, what exactly are you looking for in a Maxima Flake? Can it not already render MathML objects?<br><br>I want to create a WYSIWYG editor that will simplify the creation of mathematical documents and solve/plot mathematical expressions; if you haven't had a professor assign you homework to be completed in Maple or Mathematica, when you don't have such software at home, you're very fortunate (it really pretty much sucks). My objective is to create a mathematical learning environment ( MLE :) useful to both the mathematical genius and your everyday algebraic n00b; something that will solve expressions as simple as 1+2*3, while being capable of running CPU intensive Physics simulations (Step ???), balancing Chemistry equations, solving vector matrices, and integrating multi-variable expressions. It will provide the solution to almost any expression entered, and should the user desire, explain how it was derived (my teachers all through grade school frowned upon the use of calculators because they can't explain their solutions). It will be plugin-oriented, with the ability to completely change its look and feel through various addons and would be able to save each user-defined "profile" individually. Thus, it would have a very flexible GUI able of being everything from a calculator, to a WYSIWYG document editor, to a scripting IDE, all within the same application, and each with the same capabilities as the other (only friendlier toward their intended purposes). Such an application will definitely take some time to develop, and to reduce the maintenance nightmare, will require the implementation of many already existing open-source projects, but I'm willing to work toward such a goal.<br>
<br>I've decided to work with Maxima, because in its current state, KAlgebra cannot handle my math requirements. Next semester I will be taking Calc III, which introduces all sorts of mult-variable integration funness, and will shortly be taking Diff Eq's and Linear and/or Abstract Algebra, which introduce all sorts of other kool' things. However, KAlgebra may very well be able to deal with those one day, which is why I want to implement a mathematical API capable of handling multiple backends (so if one can't handle something, it will be passed to the next).<br>
<br>Sage sounds close to what I'm wanting to create, only it requires the use of a web browser and expects you to already know what you're doing. What I want to do is create an application that will not in any way inhibit you if you happen to know what you're doing, but will be easy for anyone to pick up, something "n00b friendly, but 1337 oriented."<br>
<br>-- <br>Dylon Edwards<br>SSWJ - Stay(ing) Strong With Jesus, Always<br>