Thanks for pointing that out to me. I just made the change you suggested. Now when I type x' := 4 I get the error message "unable to match delimiters". It works when I type `x'` := 4 but if I want my input to use primes and to look more like traditional math notation is there any way I could avoid having to input using the ` symbol?

I find this discussion of sum vs add quite informative. I've now learned the use of procname(args). I have one question. Why do you enclose if in the ` characters (BTW, what is that character called?). I tried your code after changing `if` to if and it put the word in bold, non-italic. But the sum and add commands worked as before. I've seen that done alot before. Why did you use the ` character around if ?

Sungyg, Try entering this at a command prompt and see what you get. op(3, eq1)^2: expand(%): Temp := sqrt(%): eq3 := eq1-op(3, eq1)+Temp

Thank you for pointing that out. I do find doc mode helpful for presentation purposes, but from now on if I get unexpected glitches in doc mode I'll try switching to worksheet mode and see if thast helps.

Thank you for pointing that out. I do find doc mode helpful for presentation purposes, but from now on if I get unexpected glitches in doc mode I'll try switching to worksheet mode and see if thast helps.

Well, in case anyone out there is interested, here is my worksheet on the 2-hole 3-hole problem. Perhaps a question more interesting than the problem itself is "why would anyone spend so much time on a problem like this that probably doesn't have any practical application?" . All I can say is that I got intrigued by the problem and then I was too obsessed to give up. View 2292_BrainTeaser 1_D.mw on MapleNet or Download 2292_BrainTeaser 1_D.mw
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Thank you Scott, that was very helpful.

Thanks Alex. I thought of doing that but didn't try it because for presentation purposes I don't like those tildes in my output. That's why I like to use 'assuming' rather than 'assume'. Is there any to set an environmental variable or something so that you can use 'assume' on a variable but not get a tilde in the output?

Thanks dharr. That works perfectly.

Thanks dharr. That works perfectly.

Of course, you're right. When I change the highest value of the index variable on the lhs from n to n-1 then MAPLE's Bernoulli numbers are the ones that work, not Havil's. Its curious. I went back and look at Havil's book, and on pg. 83 he clearly uses a formula which is the one I put into the MAPLE worksheet - that is, where the highest value of the index varible on the lhs is n, not n-1. So 'his' Bernoulli numbers work with 'his' formula, and MAPLE's (which are the standard ones, as I checked another ref book and got B1 = 1/2) work with the formula as adjusted by Alec's correction. Havil is no slouch. Freeman Dyson wrote a glowing forward to his book. Is it possible there is no universally accepted definition of the Bernoulli numbers? But then, Havil does state that the BN's can be generated from the coeff's of the expansion of x/(exp(x)-1), so how could his B1= -1/2 be right? Maybe this is just an example of how even a smart guy can get something a bit muddled.

That's a good one, Will.

Thanks Edgar and Georgios. It would appear that in earlier incarnations of MAPLE cute terseness was deemed superior to readability. Actually, I sorta like the idea of fi and od. Are there any other slick little goodies out there similar to those two?

Thanks Edgar and Georgios. It would appear that in earlier incarnations of MAPLE cute terseness was deemed superior to readability. Actually, I sorta like the idea of fi and od. Are there any other slick little goodies out there similar to those two?

Will, CUTE PDF works!!!!! It prints all the page numbers !!! Thanks for the reference. When I think over this whole thing its a real head scratcher. Both the Konica 1735 driver and Adobe's own Acrobat 7.0 both showed the same weird problem on 2 different computers, so I was 99% sure the problem was w/ the MAPLE print routines. Then this wierd free program CUTE PDF works correctly, while Acrobat, created by the creators of the pdf format, did not. Go figure! :) Thanks