This chapter covers--in a very complete, exhaustive, clear, and comprehensive way--the state-of-the-art in computer algebra systems.

Divided into three parts, the chapter covers general purpose computer algebra systems, special purpose computer algebra systems, and packages. Each system or package is described in a very basic and simple way by experts in, or developers of, the system or package under consideration, mainly by presenting several examples showing the system’s or package’s history, availability, capabilities, and syntax.

The book from which the chapter is taken was published in early 2003; readers should be aware that some of the features discussed in the chapter have become obsolete in 2004.