On 1/17/07, sen1 at math.msu.edu <sen1 at math.msu.edu> wrote:
> I want to consider derivatives as functions.
> (%i14) f(x):= diff(x^3,x);...
> How does one define the derivative as a function, so one can compute
> values, plots, etc?
Presumably you only want to calculate the derivative once, not on each
function call. You can do this using the ''(...) construction (that's
two single-quotes, not one double-quote), which evaluates its contents
when the expression is read.
Examples:
ddd(x):=''(print(x));
x The x is printed during
function *definition*, not evaluation
=> ddd(x) := x This is the resulting definition,
which has no "print"
eee(x):=''(diff(x^3,x));
=> eee(x):=3*x^2 Resulting definition
You can also calculate the formula first:
fff: diff(x^3,x);
=> 3*x^2
ggg(x):=''fff => ggg(x):=3*x^2
ggg(2) => 12
I trust this is what you had in mind.
-s