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Wolfram Mathematica Comparative Analyses

Scripting Languages

Scripting Languages
(Perl, Python, Ruby, PHP, JavaScript, ...)
Long popular as a scripting language in the advanced R&D community, Mathematica is considered by many to be the world's single most productive programming language—combining a uniquely powerful multiparadigm approach to programming with built-in access to the world's largest web of advanced algorithms.
Built on powerful core principles—tested over the course of over two decades on the world's most sophisticated and abstract problems—Mathematica allows almost any computation to be expressed more clearly and more concisely than any other language. While some of its long-standing featuressuch as dynamic typing, auto-vectorization, tree manipulation and higher-level functional programming—have now begun to appear in other languages, Mathematica's unique symbolic handling of programs and data sets it fundamentally apart, and has allowed it to make a series of important and unique language advances.
The breadth and depth of the Mathematica system provides many crucial advantages for scripting—from routine application of world-class algorithms to immediate integrated visualization, sophisticated interface creation, full integration with modern computing environments, rich access to data in a wide range of formats, integration of editing, debugging and documentation—and the ability to go smoothly from small one-off tasks to large organized production systems.
Standard Scripting Language Features in Mathematica:
Key Advantages of Mathematica as a Scripting Language:
Interoperability with Scripting Languages:
Interesting Tidbits:
  • Wolfram Research's complete software engineering system is based on Mathematica
  • Wolfram Research's websites are scripted in Mathematica
  • All Mathematica's documentation (on-web and in-product) is created with Mathematica
  • The Wolfram Demonstrations Project contains 1000+ examples of short Mathematica programs
  • Mathematica makes possible "live programming", which is becoming popular as a "performance art"
  • Creators of several modern scripting languages first learned Mathematica
See Also Analyses On: