Mathematica 8 pioneers free-form linguistic input, allowing users to enter plain English and get immediate results and the Mathematica input for further exploration—without the need for syntax. It is a breakthrough in usability that makes many programming and development tasks as easy as entering a query in English.

Mathematica 8 is the start of this initiative—ongoing improvements to the Wolfram|Alpha technology powering this feature will continue to advance Mathematica's ease of use, independent of product releases.

• ( at beginning of input) gives you the result and the native Mathematica syntax where applicable.
• ( at beginning of input) returns full Wolfram|Alpha website-style results with text, graphics, and interactive elements.
• (Ctrl+) inserts free-form input into a Mathematica expression for further computation.
• WolframAlpha function allows you to programmatically gather information from the Wolfram|Alpha API and provides the ability to choose specific outputs and formats. »
• Learn Mathematica syntax by entering a query in English and then viewing the free-form queries as precise Mathematica commands.
• Easily specify plot frames, styles, gridlines, and more in natural language.
• Perform many specialist operations in fields as diverse as image processing and finance using free-form instructions.
• Access Wolfram|Alpha's vast collection of data and integrate it with your Mathematica session.
• Transparently refer to the results of previous computations or session variables in free-form commands.
• Learn more about what can be accomplished with Wolfram|Alpha integration on the examples page. »

Basic Examples »	Graphics »	Graphics Styling »
Image Processing »	Calculus and Special Functions »	Probability and Statistics »
Advanced Mathematics »	Accessing Data »	Lists and Matrices »
Linguistics »	Interface Construction »