Connecting the dots

Abstract

Symbolic Computation is an area of computer science that after 20 years of initial research had its acme in the mid-1980s, when its many new algorithms were made available in "math systems for the masses" like Mathematica and Maple. Computational algebra and computational logic are the two main pillars on which this discipline is based. Currently, the field experiences a new blossom by the integration and combination of new numeric, algebraic, geometric and logic algorithms made available in new, interactive and easy-to-use versions of these systems combined with web services. Spectacular new applications are reported in areas so different as elementary particle physics, cryptography, and automated software generation. One of the most outstanding outcomes of Symbolic Computation is the recently born Wolfram Alpha system, fully programmed in Mathematical. The goal of this writing is to remind the Information Retrieval community of the chances and capabilities offered by Symbolic Computation.