Features of CDF Documents

From bloggers, students, and teachers to business consultants, scientists, engineers, or publishers, CDF delivers features that far surpass those of traditional document formats.

Live Interactive Content

Any element in CDF can be transformed into interactive content easily—true interactivity, not pre-generated or scripted. With the computing power of Mathematica technology, dynamic content in CDF can be driven by real-time computation or prompt live computation for new results, which deeply immerses readers in the content.

Dynamic Math Typesetting

CDF makes mathematical typesetting semantic-faithful, unlike traditional typography. In addition to publication-quality typesetting, a formula can be input in a fully typeset form and then immediately evaluated to produce typeset output that can be edited and re-evaluated. It is no wonder that Wolfram was the major force behind the MathML standard.

All-in-One Format

All elements of a project—calculations, visualizations, data, code, documentation, and even interactive applications—stay together in a uniquely flexible format. That means working on a problem with CDF automatically creates a document that can deliver knowledge to readers and let them drive content live.

Integrated Computational Knowledge

Powered by Mathematica and Wolfram|Alpha technology, CDF brings trillions of pieces of expert-level data and the world's largest collection of algorithms together in a single platform. Authors in a wide range of fields can instantly create subject-specific content without requiring additional tools.

The Power behind CDF»

Retargetable Documents

Create once and instantly transform into many forms—a document, textbook, presentation, report, infographic, and application. Deploy it to a variety of platforms—desktop, web, and even mobile devices*. Most operating systems and popular browsers are supported.

* Solutions for iOS and mobile devices, including cloud-based services, are coming soon.

Deploying CDF»
Platform Support for CDF»

Content Formatting

CDF supports full markup, cascading stylesheets, and immediate global restyling for dynamic and static content. CDF is optimized for interactive use and can be deployed to web and print media. Over a thousand formatting and styling options are accessible to content authors.