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First steps

To run xcas under Unix, open a terminal and type  :
xcas &
Under Windows, using the Explorer, go in the xcas directory and double-click on xcasen.bat (you can also make a shortcut).

At the first time you run xcas, you will be asked to choose an initial configuration between Xcas, Maple ou TI89 (it is the preferred syntax for the programming language). If you know Maple or the TI89 choose the corresponding mode, if you are familiar with C/C++, choose Xcas.

You should now see a window like one the figure below (click on the kbd button -the third button from the right at the bottom- to switch on or switch off the keyboard) :
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{xcas_tut0bisen}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{xcas0en}
The window is divided in the following areas :

In a typical session, you enter commands in the commandline or directly in the history, using the online help and editors (eqw, mtrw, prog) if needed.

For example, to compute 1234*5678, type in the commandline 1234*5678 then Enter. This is the same input method as in popular CAS.

The software commands are grouped by themes in the menu bar. For example, to factor an integer, go in the menu Alg, submenu Integers, item ifactor. The message line shows a brief explanation of what the command does. The online help can be invoked (yellow button help) to see some examples (that you can modify and paste in the command line), or related commands. The global index of xcas commands is at the left. Under Windows and Linux, you can also find a word in all HTML help files using the menu (Help->Find word in HTML help)
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{xcas1en}
You can also type a command directly in the commandline or history if you know the commandname, and using the tabulation key1 at the right of the Q key on a US keyboard (or clicking on the completion key) you will get the possible completions of uncomplete commands.

If you don't see the upper part of the ``bandeau'', you can activate it using the menu Edit -> Preferences -> Cas or the red cas button. The upper part of the ``bandeau'' groups commands like in the menu-bar, but the commands are shown in a persistent manner, which is very useful if you invoke several times the same command. It does not show on-line help, it is for more advanced users and is not activated by default.

The equation editor (eqw) is used to enter or manipulate equations in 2-d mode, you don't need to use parenthesis in this mode. It is also the input mode of the history.

The graphic mode (geo) is used to display graph of functions or geometry figures.

The spreadsheet (mtrw) is somewhat minimal compared to a usual spreadsheet, but it is a CAS spreadsheet, a cell can be any expression, including user-defined functions. It can be used for example to show table of values of a function or of a sequence defined by recurrence. It may also be used to edit matrices (with simple entries, for complex algebraic entries, the equation editor may be more useful).

The programming editor (prg) may be used to enter small program using xcas programming language (it is not yet available under Mac OS X). For more complex programs, a ``true'' editor like emacs, vi or nedit should be used, and the file should be loaded using the read command in the commandline. For very simple programs, you can also enter them directly in the commandline or in the 2-d history. It is possible to execute a program step by step using the debugger, and see how variables content change, making error fix much easier.


next up previous contents
Next: The equation writer Up: Xcas tutorial Previous: Note for TI89/TI92/TI Voyage   Contents
giac documentation written by Bernard Parisse