Introduction

This chapter introduces computing and computer programming in general and Maple in particular, although without going beyond the Maple user interface. The first two sections provide general advice about how to learn computing and suggest some background reading. The next section introduces some of the unavoidable jargon of the subject and warns about ambiguous terminology that arises because Maple spans such a wide range of application areas. Section 1.4 introduces the Maple worksheet and command-line interfaces. I recommend using the worksheet interface, and the last section covers important practical details that you should be aware of before trying to use it seriously.