Champaign, Illinois--May 20, 2003--The new webMathematica 2.0 from Wolfram Research incorporates features that make it even easier for users to build sophisticated, interactive web applications with the full calculation and visualization power of Mathematica technology.
"The original release of webMathematica opened the door to incorporating a whole new generation of interactive functionality into websites, and webMathematica 2.0 builds upon the latest web development standards to further increase this access and make the product more robust," says Lars Hohmuth, Manager of Strategic Marketing at Wolfram Research. Improvements in Version 2.0 are immediately apparent, starting with a simplified installation process that requires minimal configuration beyond the installation of the webMathematica web application, thereby enabling most customers to set up their websites in less than 15 minutes.
"webMathematica 2.0 blows everything else away. . . . I am [currently] using PHP, MySQL, and graphics libraries to do things that would be very simple with webMathematica 2.0," says Ed Luschei, Assistant Professor of Agronomy at the University of Wisconsin.
webMathematica now includes Mathematica 4.2, the latest Mathematica version, which has many features that are integral to web operations, such as XML, SVG, and MathML capabilities. In addition to the added functionality of the Mathematica 4.2 computation engine, the technology behind webMathematica 2.0 uses a new HTML templating mechanism based on JavaServer Pages (JSP) custom tags. This mechanism is easier to understand than, and fully compatible with, the mechanism used in Version 1.0. It also allows the use of other JSP custom tag libraries and facilitates the integration of webMathematica into other server applications.
Other new features in webMathematica 2.0 include:
"With webMathematica 2.0, our focus was on making the product fully compatible with existing web standards. We invested a large amount of design time in implementing a more simplified architecture based on standard JSP and XML technologies. At the same time, we arrived upon a more optimal configuration of components for easier installation and development," says Tom Wickham-Jones, Director of Strategic Kernel Technology at Wolfram Research and chief developer of webMathematica. "The end result is a more elegant and reliable product which is also more intuitive, enabling faster construction of pages and increased performance."
webMathematica 2.0 is available for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Solaris, HP-UX, IRIX, AIX, HP Tru64 Unix, and compatible systems. Users may be eligible for one of two license configurations: webMathematica Professional, intended for development and deployment of sophisticated intranet and internet sites; and webMathematica Amateur, designed for those who simply wish to showcase their work over the web. webMathematica Professional is priced from under USD $5000 per year; academic, site, and other discounts may be available. webMathematica Amateur is free to subscribers of Wolfram Research's Premier Service program. International prices are available from the authorized resellers listed at http://www.wolfram.com/international
For more information about webMathematica 2.0, call 1-800-WOLFRAM (965-3726), send email to info@wolfram.com, or go to http://www.wolfram.com/webmathematica
Wolfram Research is the world's leading developer of technical computing software, offering organization-wide computing solutions. Led by Mathematica, its flagship product, the company's software is relied on today by nearly two million users worldwide and has been the recipient of many industry awards for technical excellence. Wolfram Research, a privately held company, was founded in 1987 by Stephen Wolfram and is headquartered in Champaign, Illinois, with offices in Europe and Japan. Go to http://www.wolfram.com for more information about Wolfram Research and its products.
# # #
(c) 2003 Wolfram Research, Inc. Mathematica is a registered trademark of Wolfram Research, Inc. All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners. Mathematica is not associated with Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. or MathTech, Inc.