Wolfram Alpha

[Dana DeLouis]

Hi. A lot of us have our own favorite Excel macros that grab data on
our worksheet and then use Google to find web addresses.
I would like to mention the "Wolfram Alpha" site that I am sure many may
find useful from an Excel point of view.

One can go to the site directly. I thought I would mention one of a
million ways to work with it from within Excel. The possibilities are
basically unlimited.

When "Solving", note the "Show Steps" option. Gee! Where was this when
I was in school!" Note that it's been repeated many times (using math
programs) that the computer does not solve equations the way we learn in
school. From what I've read, not by a long shot. "Show me the steps"
from what I understand is rather hard to do. All I can say is "wow" to
the writers of this section of code.

One would probably work with input boxes to input data. Or, one would
be grabbing data from the worksheet. I am not going to do it justice
here. Here are just a few ideas:


Sub Demo()
'// = = = = = = = = = = = = =
'// Dana DeLouis
'// just some of a million different ideas
'// = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Dim V
Dim S As String

'// We can be exact with the Syntax, but we don't have to:
S = "Solve[x2+x-6==0,x]"
HexAdj S
Question S

'// We can be a little more general:
S = "Solve 3*x3+4x-3 = 15 FOR x"
HexAdj S
Question S

S = "Solve x3-9x2+26x = 24 for x"
HexAdj S
Question S

'// Quick question while working with Excel...
Question "Pi / E to 80 digits" 'Don't have to be Exact N[Pi/E,80]

'// One of my favorites...
[A1] = 1
[A2] = 2
[A3] = 6
[A4] = 24
[A5] = 120

'// Hmmm. What is this sequence on my Spreadsheet?
V = [Transpose(A1:A5)]
Question Join(V, ",")

Question "What is distance from Miami,Fl, USA to Lima, Peru"

[B1] = 719
Question "What is Area Code of" & [B1]
End Sub



Private Function Question(data)
Const K As String = "http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=#"
Dim WolframAlpha As String

WolframAlpha = Replace(K, "#", data)
ActiveWorkbook.FollowHyperlink WolframAlpha, , True
End Function

Function HexAdj(ByRef Str)
'// Adjust some input characters to Hex for clarity
Str = Replace(Str, "+", "%2B+")
Str = Replace(Str, "=", "%3D")
End Function


= = = =
Again, there are a million ways to work with it.

HTH :>)
Dana DeLouis

 

[Dave Peterson]

Thanks for posting this Dana.

I tried this site when it first became available and it was just too
slow--probably everyone else trying it, too???

Pretty amazing stuff...

Hi. A lot of us have our own favorite Excel macros that grab data on
our worksheet and then use Google to find web addresses.
I would like to mention the "Wolfram Alpha" site that I am sure many may
find useful from an Excel point of view.

One can go to the site directly. I thought I would mention one of a
million ways to work with it from within Excel. The possibilities are
basically unlimited.

When "Solving", note the "Show Steps" option. Gee! Where was this when
I was in school!" Note that it's been repeated many times (using math
programs) that the computer does not solve equations the way we learn in
school. From what I've read, not by a long shot. "Show me the steps"
from what I understand is rather hard to do. All I can say is "wow" to
the writers of this section of code.

One would probably work with input boxes to input data. Or, one would
be grabbing data from the worksheet. I am not going to do it justice
here. Here are just a few ideas:

Sub Demo()
'// = = = = = = = = = = = = =
'// Dana DeLouis
'// just some of a million different ideas
'// = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Dim V
Dim S As String

'// We can be exact with the Syntax, but we don't have to:
S = "Solve[x2+x-6==0,x]"
HexAdj S
Question S

'// We can be a little more general:
S = "Solve 3*x3+4x-3 = 15 FOR x"
HexAdj S
Question S

S = "Solve x3-9x2+26x = 24 for x"
HexAdj S
Question S

'// Quick question while working with Excel...
Question "Pi / E to 80 digits" 'Don't have to be Exact N[Pi/E,80]

'// One of my favorites...
[A1] = 1
[A2] = 2
[A3] = 6
[A4] = 24
[A5] = 120

'// Hmmm. What is this sequence on my Spreadsheet?
V = [Transpose(A1:A5)]
Question Join(V, ",")

Question "What is distance from Miami,Fl, USA to Lima, Peru"

[B1] = 719
Question "What is Area Code of" & [B1]
End Sub

Private Function Question(data)
Const K As String = "http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=#"
Dim WolframAlpha As String

WolframAlpha = Replace(K, "#", data)
ActiveWorkbook.FollowHyperlink WolframAlpha, , True
End Function

Function HexAdj(ByRef Str)
'// Adjust some input characters to Hex for clarity
Str = Replace(Str, "+", "%2B+")
Str = Replace(Str, "=", "%3D")
End Function

= = = =
Again, there are a million ways to work with it.

HTH :>)
Dana DeLouis

 

[Dana DeLouis]

I apologize. I somehow lost the power symbol "^" during copy/paste.

S = "Solve[x2+x-6==0,x]"
S = "Solve 3*x3+4x-3 = 15 FOR x"
S = "Solve x3-9x2+26x = 24 for x"

Sub Demo()
Dim V
Dim S As String

' These were missing the ^ symbol
' S = "Solve[x^2+x-6==0,x]"
' S = "Solve 3*x^3+4x-3 = 15 FOR x"

S = "Solve x^3-9x^2+26x = 24 for x"
HexAdj S
Question S

'// C1 Has a formula. What is the derivative
'// with respect to A1?

[C1].Formula = "=A1^3+2*A1"

S = Mid$([C1].Formula, 2)
HexAdj S
S = Replace("The Derivative of # wrt A1", "#", S)
Question S
End Sub



Private Function Question(data)
Const K As String = "http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=#"
Dim WolframAlpha As String

WolframAlpha = Replace(K, "#", data)
ActiveWorkbook.FollowHyperlink WolframAlpha, , True
End Function

Function HexAdj(ByRef Str)
'// Adjust some input characters to Hex for clarity
Str = Replace(Str, "+", "%2B+")
Str = Replace(Str, "=", "%3D")
End Function

= = = = =
Dana DeLouis

 

[Patrick Molloy]

To my mind, these News Groups, especially this one, save a HUGE amount of
leg work for those asking questions. Sure, web sites are a great source, but
there are a lot of them, and for many professionals who aren't "expert"
users, more often the issue is not knowing where to look bit not knowing
what to look for.

The News Groups resolve the issue in many ways, not the least of which is a
sharing of knowledge. We all learn and benefit from this pooling.

Hi. A lot of us have our own favorite Excel macros that grab data on our
worksheet and then use Google to find web addresses.
I would like to mention the "Wolfram Alpha" site that I am sure many may
find useful from an Excel point of view.

One can go to the site directly. I thought I would mention one of a
million ways to work with it from within Excel. The possibilities are
basically unlimited.

When "Solving", note the "Show Steps" option. Gee! Where was this when I
was in school!" Note that it's been repeated many times (using math
programs) that the computer does not solve equations the way we learn in
school. From what I've read, not by a long shot. "Show me the steps"
from what I understand is rather hard to do. All I can say is "wow" to
the writers of this section of code.

One would probably work with input boxes to input data. Or, one would be
grabbing data from the worksheet. I am not going to do it justice here.
Here are just a few ideas:


Sub Demo()
'// = = = = = = = = = = = = =
'// Dana DeLouis
'// just some of a million different ideas
'// = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Dim V
Dim S As String

'// We can be exact with the Syntax, but we don't have to:
S = "Solve[x2+x-6==0,x]"
HexAdj S
Question S

'// We can be a little more general:
S = "Solve 3*x3+4x-3 = 15 FOR x"
HexAdj S
Question S

S = "Solve x3-9x2+26x = 24 for x"
HexAdj S
Question S

'// Quick question while working with Excel...
Question "Pi / E to 80 digits" 'Don't have to be Exact N[Pi/E,80]

'// One of my favorites...
[A1] = 1
[A2] = 2
[A3] = 6
[A4] = 24
[A5] = 120

'// Hmmm. What is this sequence on my Spreadsheet?
V = [Transpose(A1:A5)]
Question Join(V, ",")

Question "What is distance from Miami,Fl, USA to Lima, Peru"

[B1] = 719
Question "What is Area Code of" & [B1]
End Sub



Private Function Question(data)
Const K As String = "http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=#"
Dim WolframAlpha As String

WolframAlpha = Replace(K, "#", data)
ActiveWorkbook.FollowHyperlink WolframAlpha, , True
End Function

Function HexAdj(ByRef Str)
'// Adjust some input characters to Hex for clarity
Str = Replace(Str, "+", "%2B+")
Str = Replace(Str, "=", "%3D")
End Function


= = = =
Again, there are a million ways to work with it.

HTH :>)
Dana DeLouis

 

[Patrick Molloy]

apologies - - this may sound a bit negative, it isn't meant to be, i
appreciate you letting us know of this site.

To my mind, these News Groups, especially this one, save a HUGE amount of
leg work for those asking questions. Sure, web sites are a great source,
but there are a lot of them, and for many professionals who aren't
"expert" users, more often the issue is not knowing where to look bit not
knowing what to look for.

The News Groups resolve the issue in many ways, not the least of which is
a sharing of knowledge. We all learn and benefit from this pooling.

Hi. A lot of us have our own favorite Excel macros that grab data on our
worksheet and then use Google to find web addresses.
I would like to mention the "Wolfram Alpha" site that I am sure many may
find useful from an Excel point of view.

One can go to the site directly. I thought I would mention one of a
million ways to work with it from within Excel. The possibilities are
basically unlimited.

When "Solving", note the "Show Steps" option. Gee! Where was this when
I was in school!" Note that it's been repeated many times (using math
programs) that the computer does not solve equations the way we learn in
school. From what I've read, not by a long shot. "Show me the steps"
from what I understand is rather hard to do. All I can say is "wow" to
the writers of this section of code.

One would probably work with input boxes to input data. Or, one would be
grabbing data from the worksheet. I am not going to do it justice here.
Here are just a few ideas:


Sub Demo()
'// = = = = = = = = = = = = =
'// Dana DeLouis
'// just some of a million different ideas
'// = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Dim V
Dim S As String

'// We can be exact with the Syntax, but we don't have to:
S = "Solve[x2+x-6==0,x]"
HexAdj S
Question S

'// We can be a little more general:
S = "Solve 3*x3+4x-3 = 15 FOR x"
HexAdj S
Question S

S = "Solve x3-9x2+26x = 24 for x"
HexAdj S
Question S

'// Quick question while working with Excel...
Question "Pi / E to 80 digits" 'Don't have to be Exact N[Pi/E,80]

'// One of my favorites...
[A1] = 1
[A2] = 2
[A3] = 6
[A4] = 24
[A5] = 120

'// Hmmm. What is this sequence on my Spreadsheet?
V = [Transpose(A1:A5)]
Question Join(V, ",")

Question "What is distance from Miami,Fl, USA to Lima, Peru"

[B1] = 719
Question "What is Area Code of" & [B1]
End Sub



Private Function Question(data)
Const K As String = "http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=#"
Dim WolframAlpha As String

WolframAlpha = Replace(K, "#", data)
ActiveWorkbook.FollowHyperlink WolframAlpha, , True
End Function

Function HexAdj(ByRef Str)
'// Adjust some input characters to Hex for clarity
Str = Replace(Str, "+", "%2B+")
Str = Replace(Str, "=", "%3D")
End Function


= = = =
Again, there are a million ways to work with it.

HTH :>)
Dana DeLouis