> Why should one want to turn a Python function (or method) into a > symbolic function? I guess one couldn't do calculus (differentiate, > integrate) the resulting symbolic function, or can one? So, beyond > calculus, what can one do with a symbolic function that can't be done > with a Python function? >
You can differentiate and integrate, but the result will be formal: diff(steps(x),x) D[0](steps)(x) That's already more than you can do with Python functions. Additionally, you can specify a derivative_func to the decorator that returns the exact derivative. Also, this allows you to use the function in an expression and have it simplify. For example, 2*steps(x) - steps(x) - steps(x) will be zero. -- -- To post to this group, send an email to sage-devel@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to sage-devel+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sage-devel URL: http://www.sagemath.org
