Questions tagged [guidelines]
General guidelines and best practices for Mathematica usage and programming.
73
questions
6
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1
answer
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Introductory material on machine learning?
Does Mathematica have a handbook or other introductory material on machine learning? Or are there any books on analyzing machine learning with Mathematica?
6
votes
1
answer
485
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How to Learn as much about Mathematica as possible efficiently with the Documentation Center and books?
I have been using Mathematica for almost a year now and I am still learning about functions that make me kick myself for not knowing earlier. For example, I wish I had known about the functions ...
4
votes
1
answer
88
views
Optimizing some code for WolframCloud deployment/publishing
I am working on creating a demonstration and came across an instance where my code works fine on my machine locally but breaks down when deployed to the cloud (so that it can be publicly accessed). I ...
0
votes
0
answers
428
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Is there a beginners tutorial for Wolfram Engine users?
I was taking a look at WolframEngine. The fact that it is freely available, virtually making Wolfram tools and language accessible to anybody is very much attractive!
Nevertheless, the first impact ...
7
votes
1
answer
238
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Understanding Dynamic, Refresh, and TrackedSymbols
I thought I had a pretty good handle on Dynamic, but some recent examples have made me suspect that I may have some misconceptions, and I am not finding good ...
33
votes
2
answers
985
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Custom atomic expressions - modern tutorial
Atomic but sophisticated expressions are all around for a long time: Graph SparseArray.
More are coming with each new release, ...
15
votes
2
answers
329
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Hold attributes vs performance
Is there a reason to use Hold* attributes for functional code (e.g. no intention to mutate input)? I'd expect performance gains as in pass by value vs pass by ...
8
votes
1
answer
158
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Memoization and packages
I am working in a package on symmetric functions, that sometimes are quite expensive to compute. I use memoization extensively, but what is the correct approach for a package intended for the public ...
13
votes
4
answers
472
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Renaming options of custom functions while preserving backwards compatibility
I have a package with many functions. There is an option name that several functions share. I feel that the current name of this option was not the best choice. I would like to rename it, but at the ...
6
votes
1
answer
110
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Conditional rendering of items
Let's say I have a column to display and each of its items can be hidden separately.
Question: Is there a way to make it work without re-rendering whole column whenever a particular item is hidden? ...
3
votes
1
answer
99
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Application example of RuleDelayed in options
In this question: Options which require RuleDelayed , an example was given, where the an option has to be given as a RuleDelayed: ...
32
votes
5
answers
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Different strategies to get a clean Kernel. Quit, Exit, ClearAll, Remove, CleanSlate?
Often new users face problems with lingering definitions that, if unaware, may cause unexpected and frustrating behaviour.
There are several answers that illustrate different aspects of the solution, ...
6
votes
0
answers
337
views
Multipart package creation, development and maintenance [closed]
I am a physics major. I focus on theoretical and mathematical physics. After spending some time with Mathematica I found that it is not straightforward to create separate files for logically distinct ...
5
votes
0
answers
83
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Handling rendering delays gracefully
I moved the second issue to a separate topic: 162013
Please run the code sample
As you can see there is a delay between the moment the calculation is finished and when the graphics is shown. And ...
13
votes
1
answer
411
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How to create (Header + Main area + Settings pane) notebook layout
cross-posted in community.wolfram.com
The goal is something like in the picture below.
Basic? I dare you to try to implement it in a manageable, scalable and flexible way.
Requirements:
The goal ...
3
votes
0
answers
99
views
How to visualise Mathematica code and how to become a better coder [closed]
I seem to be using functional coding frequently. However, it does not come naturally and I usually copy from example, and then adapt for my own. How do you recommend I improve as a coder? I would ...
30
votes
5
answers
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Unexpected behaviors in built-in functions
Existence of this topic is discussed in this mathematica.meta post.
I'm sure I am not the only non-beginner in WL who from time to time finds themselves not being able to predict an outcome of a ...
20
votes
1
answer
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Is building an event-based parser possible/reasonable in Mathematica (WL)?
Too long? Go to Problems section
Background
I like to learn by doing small, sometimes artificial, projects. Among other things I had 'parsers', and 'stream methods / streams in MMA' on my to learn ...
7
votes
2
answers
202
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Impact of Linkage and DistanceFunction on Agglomerate clustering
I'm using Agglomerate function to find clusters of my experimental points. I have about 20 points with 10 parameters each. It seems it works fine, but there are plenty of Linkage and DistanceFunction ...
22
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2
answers
2k
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How are Accuracy and Precision related Mathematica for a given operation?
The common understanding for Accuracy and Precision in English language is given by this figure.
Inspired by this question I have a follow up question relating ...
14
votes
1
answer
270
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Clean package update for API/FormFunctions on Wolfram Cloud
Cross posted on community.wolfram.com (new comments)
TLDR
There is a pool of kernels/sessions available for each user, you don't have control over the pool only over specific kernel you currently ...
7
votes
1
answer
929
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Begin["`Private`"] vs Module
So, if you have a package formatted like so:
...
42
votes
2
answers
5k
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What are some common issues with fitting functions to data?
Mathematica has numerous functions designed to, or capable of, fitting known functions, and finding unknown functions to match data sets. What are some common issues that come with finding those fits?
3
votes
1
answer
118
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Questions about InlineCell vs InlineFormula vs DisplayFormula cells
I'm having trouble with typesetting, and can't get these questions straight in my head.
What is the difference between "InlineCell" and ...
18
votes
1
answer
870
views
How to handle package dependencies?
When an application written in C++ depends on some libraries, the libraries are usually shipped together with the application. Two applications that depend on the same library will not share the same ...
7
votes
0
answers
108
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More documentation on stylesheets?
I am finding the "help" for manipulating stylesheets in Mathematica is limited. I have a found a number of helpful tips in the documentation center and StackExchange, including help with ...
2
votes
0
answers
221
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Any Colocalization measuring methods or WL functions?
[Cross-posted on the Wolfram Community.]
Is anyone aware of any Wofram image-processing tutorial or documentation/example that specifically address:
1) Intensity Correlation Coefficient-Based: (e.g. ...
10
votes
0
answers
159
views
URL functions overload
All these functions seem capable of doing the same things: Import, URLFetch, URLSave, ...
6
votes
1
answer
136
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How to work with BoxOptions (ButtonBoxOptions, PanelBoxOptions, etc.)
The main question is in the title. Here are subtopics I'd like to focus on:
Is there a tutorial related to them anywhere in documentation?
How can I check what are current values of e.g. ...
25
votes
3
answers
1k
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Package organization
When writing a Mathematica package Foo, with functions f1, f2 and f3, one can use the template:
...
73
votes
6
answers
5k
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Q&A Mathematica v.11 Neural Networks: A comprehensive look at Layers, Net Functions, and pioneering into this [[experimental]] code
Motivation
As Mathematica v.11 was released earlier this month with a host of new [[experimental]] functions and a limited number of examples on curated data that ...
14
votes
2
answers
553
views
Wolfram Cloud deployment obstacles
What are official restrictions about FormFunctions/general deployment contents?
There are problems with many things which sometimes I have workarounds for but I ...
15
votes
1
answer
347
views
Working with DynamicModule: SetDelayed + OwnValues
Shortly, definitions in form of e.g. x:= RandomReal[] have to be avoided inside DynamicModule[{x}, ...]. Why?, this ...
19
votes
1
answer
470
views
Any manual on cell grouping management?
Recently I come back to the problem of cell grouping and performed extensive search on this site and on MathGroup archive for information on how to use the possible values of the ...
58
votes
3
answers
5k
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Is manual adjustment of AccuracyGoal and PrecisionGoal useless?
This is a problem confusing me for years.
AccuracyGoal and PrecisionGoal are two options that I never truly understand and, to ...
11
votes
1
answer
216
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Nested association values validation. POJsO handling
Sometimes it is convenient to work in your package/app with "objects" like:
...
19
votes
4
answers
616
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Internal DynamicModule steals scope of external DynamicModule
I have two dynamic objects, one nested in the other. Both have their own functions defined, as follows. I have simplified them to the point where they don't make much sense, but can still illustrate ...
14
votes
2
answers
701
views
Good clearing practices
I have been using Mathematica for about 2 years and I'm pretty ok to write and optimize my code. Wanting to improve my practice, I often look at code examples. However, I can not determine if there is ...
39
votes
2
answers
2k
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General techniques for creating complex animations
I love good animations of abstract concepts, and when I try to create them myself, I prefer doing so in code to make sure they are exact (and because some things are just way too fiddly to do by hand)....
154
votes
9
answers
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General strategies to write big code in Mathematica?
I think after six months of exposure to Mathematica and the Wolfram Language I am fairly OK with writing short codes and snippets. However, what are some general strategies to use in order to write ...
70
votes
2
answers
2k
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Guidelines for planning custom GUI in Mathematica
This post is here to save your time during GUI development in Mathematica. And one way to do this is to know where limits are and to be aware of features that are awaiting.
Background
Usually I don't ...
4
votes
0
answers
167
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RealDigits and functional style
So while thinking about Replacing numbers of which you only know certain digits I have faced, again, a problem that I find hard to extract from RealDigits' output ...
10
votes
2
answers
390
views
Naming convention for symbols exported from package
I know this is a little opinion based, but so is Mathematica style guide and similar topics.
The issue is important so I think this topic will be beneficial for future visitors.
Q: So ...
19
votes
1
answer
1k
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What is the difference between MathLink and WSTP? Which one should I use?
What is the difference between MathLink and WSTP programs? Will the use of MathLink protocol be maintained or not?
14
votes
2
answers
10k
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How to draw confidence ellipse from a covariance matrix?
I am studying a two-dimensional dataset, whose mean vector and covariance matrix are the following:
...
44
votes
7
answers
5k
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Mathematica style guide?
I encountered this site today https://code.google.com/p/google-styleguide/ regarding the programming style in some languages. What would be best programming practices in Mathematica, for small and ...
13
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2
answers
3k
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How to train a convolutional neural net on images?
The functions Predict[] and Classify[] both have the option Method -> "NeuralNetwork", ...
6
votes
1
answer
146
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To TagSet or not to TagSet when using MakeBoxes
What is the difference between the following two:
...
7
votes
3
answers
350
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What is the recommended way to define numeric function with special cases?
What is the recommended way to define a purely numeric function with special cases? Should I define many special cases with pattern matching?
...
37
votes
2
answers
3k
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Best practice of passing a large number of parameters to functions
I have a number of functions that all take a large number of parameters. I am wondering what is the best practice of passing these parameters to those functions. I could, of course, simply specify ...