Mathematica Demystified
Simple enough for a beginner, but challenging enough for an advanced user, this hands-on guide takes you from your very first calculation all the way to plotting complex fractals in Mathematica.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Mathematica Demystified
Chapter 3: Getting Help
In this chapter, we'll describe ways to avoid making mistakes with Mathematica. It makes sense to have this chapter early in the book so that you can, well, avoid making mistakes! On the other hand, in order to understand the examples, you'll need to know enough Mathematica to recognize the mistakes! So, try to read this chapter now most of it can be read without yet knowing much Mathematica. And if any of it doesn't really make sense, just skip it. But, you should definitely come back and reread this chapter after you have learned more Mathematica. In fact, the more Mathematica you know, the more you will be able to appreciate this chapter and pick up some valuable tips for avoiding and correcting syntax errors as well as learning how to find answers to your Mathematica questions.
3.1 Syntax Coloring
You have probably already noticed that as you type expressions into an input cell, Mathematica will automatically color different parts of what you type different colors. This is being done to help you in a couple of important ways. First, it can help you identify, and avoid, syntax errors. Secondly, it can help you recognize and distinguish between variables, indices, and other expressions in ways that ultimately will help you organize your work.
Of course, this book is not printed in color! So as we look at the examples in this chapter it is doubly important to try them out yourself since the...
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