Subject: Constant of integration (Was Re: sqrt(x)*sqrt(x))
From: Raymond Toy
Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2011 23:30:51 -0500
On 2/11/11 5:48 PM, Rich Hennessy wrote:
> ?There is no convenient way of telling Maxima that it should consider
> only real numbers . . .?
>
> Inconvenience is not an excuse. On a related issue. It is complete
> inexcusable that Maxima does
Sure it is. It's inconvenient for you to fix the things you don't like
because it's inconvenient for you to learn the necessary stuff to do it.
Well, that's the excuse I use, anyway. Works for me. :-)
> not know that integrate(x,x) = x^2/2+C. Maxima always forgets to add
> the C.
>
Why is this important? Does any other CAS do that? No table of
integrals I know of does this. I vaguely remember it being mentioned in
high school calculus, but I don't think we were expected to answer every
integration question with a + C term added.
Ray