An Elementary Introduction to the Wolfram Language by Stephen Wolfram

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the Wolfram Language<div class="edition-text">Second Edition (2017)</div></a> </div> <span class="prevnext"><a href="#" id='previousPage'><span><img src="/language/elementary-introduction/img/top-previous-arrow.png" width="12" height="20" alt=""></span></a><a href="preface.html"><span><img src="/language/elementary-introduction/img/top-next-arrow.png" width="13" height="21" alt=""></span></a></span> </div> </header> <div class="sidebarwrapper"> <div class="sidebarHamburger" id="sidebarHamburger"> <a href="#" id="showSidebar"><img src="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/img/hamburger.png" width="45" height="28" /></a> </div> <div class="sidebar" id="sidebar"> <div class="sidebar-close-button"> <a href="#" id="hide-sidebar-button"><img src="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/img/x-icon.png" width="13" height="13" /></a> </div> <nav id="nav" class="pageNav"><ul> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocFrontmatterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/preface.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-preface">Preface</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocFrontmatterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/what-is-the-wolfram-language.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-what-is-the-wolfram-language">What Is the Wolfram Language?</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocFrontmatterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/practicalities-of-using-the-wolfram-language.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-practicalities-of-using-the-wolfram-language">Practicalities of Using the Wolfram Language</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocFrontmatterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/other-resources.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-other-resources">Other Resources</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/01-starting-out-elementary-arithmetic.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-01-starting-out-elementary-arithmetic"><span class="tocSectionNumber">1</span>Starting Out: Elementary Arithmetic</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/02-introducing-functions.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-02-introducing-functions"><span class="tocSectionNumber">2</span>Introducing Functions</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/03-first-look-at-lists.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-03-first-look-at-lists"><span class="tocSectionNumber">3</span>First Look at Lists</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/04-displaying-lists.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-04-displaying-lists"><span class="tocSectionNumber">4</span>Displaying Lists</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/05-operations-on-lists.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-05-operations-on-lists"><span class="tocSectionNumber">5</span>Operations on Lists</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/06-making-tables.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-06-making-tables"><span class="tocSectionNumber">6</span>Making Tables</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/07-colors-and-styles.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-07-colors-and-styles"><span class="tocSectionNumber">7</span>Colors and Styles</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/08-basic-graphics-objects.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-08-basic-graphics-objects"><span class="tocSectionNumber">8</span>Basic Graphics Objects</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/09-interactive-manipulation.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-09-interactive-manipulation"><span class="tocSectionNumber">9</span>Interactive Manipulation</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/10-images.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-10-images"><span class="tocSectionNumber">10</span>Images</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/11-strings-and-text.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-11-strings-and-text"><span class="tocSectionNumber">11</span>Strings and Text</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/12-sound.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-12-sound"><span class="tocSectionNumber">12</span>Sound</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/13-arrays-or-lists-of-lists.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-13-arrays-or-lists-of-lists"><span class="tocSectionNumber">13</span>Arrays, or Lists of Lists</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/14-coordinates-and-graphics.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-14-coordinates-and-graphics"><span class="tocSectionNumber">14</span>Coordinates and Graphics</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/15-the-scope-of-the-wolfram-language.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-15-the-scope-of-the-wolfram-language"><span class="tocSectionNumber">15</span>Scope of the Wolfram Language</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/16-real-world-data.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-16-real-world-data"><span class="tocSectionNumber">16</span>Real‐World Data</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/17-units.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-17-units"><span class="tocSectionNumber">17</span>Units</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/18-geocomputation.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-18-geocomputation"><span class="tocSectionNumber">18</span>Geocomputation</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/19-dates-and-times.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-19-dates-and-times"><span class="tocSectionNumber">19</span>Dates and Times</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/20-options.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-20-options"><span class="tocSectionNumber">20</span>Options</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/21-graphs-and-networks.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-21-graphs-and-networks"><span class="tocSectionNumber">21</span>Graphs and Networks</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/22-machine-learning.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-22-machine-learning"><span class="tocSectionNumber">22</span>Machine Learning</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/23-more-about-numbers.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-23-more-about-numbers"><span class="tocSectionNumber">23</span>More about Numbers</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/24-more-forms-of-visualization.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-24-more-forms-of-visualization"><span class="tocSectionNumber">24</span>More Forms of Visualization</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/25-ways-to-apply-functions.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-25-ways-to-apply-functions"><span class="tocSectionNumber">25</span>Ways to Apply Functions</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/26-pure-anonymous-functions.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-26-pure-anonymous-functions"><span class="tocSectionNumber">26</span>Pure Anonymous Functions</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/27-applying-functions-repeatedly.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-27-applying-functions-repeatedly"><span class="tocSectionNumber">27</span>Applying Functions Repeatedly</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/28-tests-and-conditionals.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-28-tests-and-conditionals"><span class="tocSectionNumber">28</span>Tests and Conditionals</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/29-more-about-pure-functions.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-29-more-about-pure-functions"><span class="tocSectionNumber">29</span>More about Pure Functions</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/30-rearranging-lists.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-30-rearranging-lists"><span class="tocSectionNumber">30</span>Rearranging Lists</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/31-parts-of-lists.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-31-parts-of-lists"><span class="tocSectionNumber">31</span>Parts of Lists</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/32-patterns.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-32-patterns"><span class="tocSectionNumber">32</span>Patterns</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/33-expressions-and-their-structure.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-33-expressions-and-their-structure"><span class="tocSectionNumber">33</span>Expressions and Their Structure</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/34-associations.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-34-associations"><span class="tocSectionNumber">34</span>Associations</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/35-natural-language-understanding.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-35-natural-language-understanding"><span class="tocSectionNumber">35</span>Natural Language Understanding</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/36-creating-websites-and-apps.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-36-creating-websites-and-apps"><span class="tocSectionNumber">36</span>Creating Websites and Apps</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/37-layout-and-display.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-37-layout-and-display"><span class="tocSectionNumber">37</span>Layout and Display</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/38-assigning-names-to-things.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-38-assigning-names-to-things"><span class="tocSectionNumber">38</span>Assigning Names to Things</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/39-immediate-and-delayed-values.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-39-immediate-and-delayed-values"><span class="tocSectionNumber">39</span>Immediate and Delayed Values</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/40-defining-your-own-functions.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-40-defining-your-own-functions"><span class="tocSectionNumber">40</span>Defining Your Own Functions</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/41-more-about-patterns.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-41-more-about-patterns"><span class="tocSectionNumber">41</span>More about Patterns</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/42-string-patterns-and-templates.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-42-string-patterns-and-templates"><span class="tocSectionNumber">42</span>String Patterns and Templates </a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/43-storing-things.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-43-storing-things"><span class="tocSectionNumber">43</span>Storing Things</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/44-importing-and-exporting.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-44-importing-and-exporting"><span class="tocSectionNumber">44</span>Importing and Exporting</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/45-datasets.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-45-datasets"><span class="tocSectionNumber">45</span>Datasets</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/46-writing-good-code.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-46-writing-good-code"><span class="tocSectionNumber">46</span>Writing Good Code</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocChapterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/47-debugging-your-code.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-47-debugging-your-code"><span class="tocSectionNumber">47</span>Debugging Your Code</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocFrontmatterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/what-we-havent-discussed.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-what-we-havent-discussed">What We Haven’t Discussed</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocFrontmatterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/being-a-programmer.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-being-a-programmer">Afterword: Being a Programmer</a> </li> <li> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocFrontmatterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/answers-to-exercises.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-answers-to-exercises">Answers to Exercises</a> </li> <li id="book-index"> <a class="km-track-click-no-url tocFrontmatterLink" href="/language/elementary-introduction/2nd-ed/book-index.html" id="EIWL-WEB-sidebar-book-index">Index</a> </li> <li class="goToPageClass"> <form action="javascript:pageURL();" autocomplete="off"><span class="goToPageText">Jump to Book Page:</span><input id="goToPageInput" type="text" size="6" onkeypress="handle(event)" /></form> </li> </ul></nav> </div> </div> <section> <div class="section-inner"> <div class="wrapper mainOuter"> <div class="mainContent"> <div> <div style="margin:50px 0 40px 50px;"> <div class="indexPageBodyCopy"> <div class="bodyCopyLeft"> <div class="title-box"><a href="preface.html"><img src="img/eiwl-book.png.en" alt="An Elementary Introduction to the Wolfram Language by Stephen Wolfram" title="An Elementary Introduction to the Wolfram Language by Stephen Wolfram"></a></div>     <div class="copydiv"> <div class="indexPageText"> The <b>Wolfram Language</b> represents a major advance in programming languages that makes leading-edge computation accessible to everyone. Unique in its approach of building in vast knowledge and automation, the Wolfram Language scales from a single line of easy-to-understand interactive code to million-line production systems. </div> <div class="indexPageText2"> <b>This book</b> provides an elementary introduction to the Wolfram Language and modern computational thinking. 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An Elementary Introduction to the Wolfram Language by Stephen Wolfram