Substituting a value for a differential function



On 03/27/2012 07:35 PM, Stavros Macrakis wrote:
> In general, in Maxima it is easier and more natural to work with 
> expressions (which you can assign to variables) than with explicitly 
> defined functions.  Thus:
>
> C: A*t^2+B*t+C;
> dC: diff(C,t);
Hi Stavros,
while we're at it, perhaps you could explain to us why Maxima does not 
get into an endless loop with that
derivative calculation? I'm puzzled to see that dC does not go into an 
endless loop:
    2*A*t + B + 2*A*t + B + 2*A*t + B + ...
Apparently diff knows that there are two different C's, the expression 
that depends on t, and the constant
that enters in the definition of that expression.

Cheers,
Jaime