Wolfram Alpha

Abstract

Wolfram Alpha is almost more of an engineering accomplishment than a scientific one — Wolfram has broken down the set of factual questions we might ask, and the computational models and data necessary for answering them, into basic building blocks — a kind of basic language for knowledge computing if you will. Then, with these building blocks in hand his system is able to compute with them — to break down questions into the basic building blocks and computations necessary to answer them, and then to actually build up computations and compute the answers on the fly.  

Connections With Other Applications 

   

Communication with other applications  occurs  through a protocol called MathLink . It allows communication between the Mathematica kernel and front- end, and also provides a general interface between the kernel and other applications. Although Mathematica has a large array of functionality, a number of interfaces to other software have been developed, for use where other programs have functionality that Mathematica does not provide, to enhance those applications, or to access legacy code.

Introduction   

Wolfram Alpha's long-term goal is to make all systematic knowledge immediately computable and accessible to everyone. We aim to collect and curate all objective data; implement every known model, method, and algorithm; and make it possible to compute whatever can be computed about anything. Our goal is to build on the achievements of science and other systematizations of knowledge to provide a single source that can be relied on by everyone for definitive answers to factual queries. 

 

The “Query” Api   

The highest-level API is called the Query API because it allows callers to supply free-form natural language queries identical to what you would type into the Wolfram|Alpha web site itself. This high-level API lets callers retrieve full Wolfram|Alpha output in a variety of formats. The standard format is text and images, but you can also get HTML with CSS and JavaScript if you want the same formatting and behavior as on the Wolfram|Alpha site itself. This makes it very easy for clients to embed formatted Wolfram|Alpha output directly into their own web pages.

Conclusion 

        The Wolfram Alpha knowledge engine is a fantastic tool for anyone who needs to perform serious calculations, or someone who wants to compute silly calculations. It is one of the most impressive systems that we have ever had, and it will prove to be a hugely valuable tool. One search query cuts out many of the calculations that you would have needed to do, and the graphs show you trends that could have taken a much longer time to figure out. Wolfram Alpha is a very impressive system.