Contemporaneous symbolic and numeric presentation

• US 20060235911A1
• Filed: 06/29/2005
• Published: 10/19/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Yu, Jinsong, Kunz, William Ben
• Granted Patent: US 7,613,754 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 708/200
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/02 manually operated with input through keyboard and computation using a built-in program, e.g. pocket calculators
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/10 Complex mathematical operations function generation by table look-up G06F1/03; evaluation of elementary functions by calculation G06F7/544
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/025 with electrically operated apparatus or devices

Abstract

A piece of software running on either a computer or a calculator for receiving a mathematical expression is described. The mathematical expression is evaluated to obtain its symbolic result. If the symbolic result can be resolved to its numeric result, the software executes to obtain the numeric result. The software displays contemporaneously the symbolic result and the numeric result.

Claims

1. A method for presenting mathematical calculations, comprising:

receiving a mathematical expression as input to a computer-executable program; and

displaying contemporaneously a symbolic result based on the resolution of the mathematical expression and a numeric result based on the resolution of symbolic result.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the act of displaying displays only symbolic result if the symbolic result includes one or more unknown variables.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the act of displaying displays a symbolic result if the numeric result is an error, infinity, or not a number.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the act of displaying displays only symbolic result if the symbolic result is identical to the numeric result.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the act of displaying displays only symbolic form of a list or a matrix if it is not appropriate to show numeric result for every element in the list or matrix.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the act of displaying displays both symbolic and numeric forms of a list or matrix if it is appropriate to show numeric result for any elements in the list or matrix.

7. A computer for calculating mathematical expressions, comprising:

a microprocessor on which a piece of software is executing for receiving a mathematical expression as input and for resolving the mathematical expression to its symbolic result and numeric result; and

a display on which the input, the symbolic result, and the numeric result are presented.

8. The computer of claim 7, wherein the display includes a user interface screen in which an input is shown on a first line, a symbolic result is shown on a second line below the first line, and the numeric result is shown on a third line below the second line.

9. The computer of claim 7, wherein the display includes a user interface screen in which an input is shown superjacent to a symbolic result and a numeric result, the symbolic result being adjacent to the numeric result.

10. The computer of claim 7, wherein the display includes a user interface screen in which an input is shown adjacent to a symbolic result and the symbolic result is shown adjacent to the numeric result.

11. The computer of claim 7, wherein the display includes a user interface screen in which a symbolic result is shown subjacent to an input and a numeric result, the input being shown adjacent to the numeric result.

12. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for implementing a method for presenting mathematical calculations, comprising:

receiving a mathematical expression as input to a computer-executable program; and

displaying contemporaneously a symbolic result based on the resolution of the mathematical expression and a numeric result based on the resolution of the symbolic result.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the act of displaying displays only symbolic result if the symbolic result includes one or more unknown variables.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the act of displaying displays only symbolic result if the numeric result is an error, infinity, or not a number.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the act of displaying displays only symbolic result if the symbolic result is identical to the numeric result.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the act of displaying displays only symbolic form of a list or matrix if it is not appropriate to show numeric result for every element in a list or a matrix.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the act of displaying displays both symbolic and numeric form of a list or matrix if it is appropriate to show numeric result for any elements in a list or a matrix.