Does ODE do anything?



I tried to solve diff. equations using ode... doesn't seem very useful... 
does it work at all?

The proper way seems to do

 desolve('DIFF(Y(X),X)=Y(X)/(X+sqrt(X*Y)),Y(X));

whereas the documentation points to

Info from file /usr/local/info/maxima.info:
 - Fonction: ODE (equation,y,x)
     a pot-pourri of Ordinary Differential solvers combined in such a
     way as to attempt more and more difficult methods as each fails.
     For example, the first attempt is with ODE2, so therefore, a user
     using ODE can assume he has all the capabilities of ODE2 at the
     very beginning and if he has been using ODE2 in programs they will
     still run if he substitutes ODE (the returned values, and calling
     sequence are identical).  In addition, ODE has a number of user
     features which can assist an experienced ODE solver if the basic
     system cannot handle the equation.  The equation is of the same
     form as required for ODE2 (which see) and the y and x are
     dependent and independent variables, as with ODE2.  For more
     details, do PRINTFILE(ODE,USAGE,SHARE); .
(D14)                                FALSE
(C15)

while admittedly desolve is also in the documentation.