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- The following are features in Derive that are not yet in the manual:
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- New Mathematical Functions
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- MAX (x1, x2, x3, ...) returns the maximum value of its arguments.
- Upon simplification, MAX (z, w) is replaced by (z+w)/2 + |z-w|/2.
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- MIN (x1, x2, x3, ...) returns the minimum value of its arguments.
- Upon simplification, MIN (z, w) is replaced by (z+w)/2 - |z-w|/2.
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- ERF (z) is the error function commonly used in probability and statistics.
- ERF (z) is defined as the integral of the Gaussian distribution
- (i.e. 2/sqrt(pi) * #e^-t^2) as t goes from 0 to z.
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- ERF (z, w) is the generalized error function. Upon simplification,
- ERF (z, w) is replaced by ERF(w) - ERF(z).
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- ERFC (z) is the complementary error function. Upon simplification,
- ERFC (z) is replaced by 1 - ERF(z).
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- NORMAL (z, m, s) is the normal distribution function of z with mean m and
- standard deviation s. Upon simplification, NORMAL (z, m, s) is
- replaced by 1/2*(1+ERF((z-m)/(s*sqrt(2)))), with m defaulting to 0
- and s defaulting to 1.
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- New Algebraic Capabilities
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- 1. Inequalities using the operators <, <=, >, <=, and /= can be entered
- using an Author command and solved using a soLve command. For example,
- solving -2 x + 3 y <= 7 for x results in x >= (3 y - 7) / 2.
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- 2. The soLve command can now solve a vector of linear equations. For example,
- solving [2x + 3y = 7, x - 5y] results in [x = 35/13, y = 7/13].
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- 3. The Calculus Differentiate command allows you to specify the order
- of the derivative. Use negative numbers to specify antiderivatives.
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- 4. The files ENGLISH.MTH and METRIC.MTH define conversion constants for the
- English and Metric unit systems. Use the Transfer Merge command to load
- the files. Loading both files converts quantities to the unit system of
- the LAST file that was loaded.
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- 5. On NEC PC-9801 compatible computers, use the yen character instead of the
- back-accent character for the matrix transpose operator (see Section 8.3).
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- New Screen Display Control
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- 1. On PC compatible computers, pressing the F5 function key switches to the
- previous display mode as set by an Options Display command. F5 is a fast
- way to switch between text and graphics display modes.
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- 2. The Options Color command allows you to set the color used to display
- characters and the background color for the various regions of the screen.
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- New Transfer Command Options
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- 1. The Transfer Print Options command has fields that allow you to specify
- the page length and to print only the highlighted expression.
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- 2. The Transfer Save command can also generate Pascal compatible files. The
- file SUPPORT.PAS defines functions that might appear in these PAS files.
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- 3. The Transfer Save command has a field that allows you to specify the
- maximum line length of MTH and PAS (Pascal) files. Expressions in FOR
- (FORTRAN) files are automatically restricted to columns 7 through 72.
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- New Plot Features
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- 1. The new 2D-plot window command Options Type allows you to select either
- rectangular or polar coordinate mode for plotting. In polar coordinate
- mode, the position of the cross is also shown in polar coordinates.
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- 2. When plotting parametric expressions, the Plot command menu gives you the
- option of plotting discrete points instead of plotting continuously.