WxMaxima

# 1 The wxMaxima user manual

WxMaxima is a graphical user interface (GUI) for the Maxima computer algebra system (CAS). WxMaxima allows one to use all of _Maxima_âs functions. In addition, it provides convenient wizards for accessing the most commonly used features. This manual describes some of the features that make wxMaxima one of the most popular GUIs for Maxima.

wxMaxima 的 logo

# 2 Introduction to wxMaxima

## 2.1 Maxima and wxMaxima

In the open-source domain, big systems are normally split into smaller projects that are easier to handle for small groups of developers. For example a CD burner program will consist of a command-line tool that actually burns the CD and a graphical user interface that allows users to implement it without having to learn about all the command line switches and in fact without using the command line at all. One advantage of this approach is that the developing work that was invested into the command-line program can be shared by many programs: The same CD-burner command-line program can be used as a âsend-to-CDâ-plug-in for a file manager application, for the âburn to CDâ function of a music player and as the CD writer for a DVD backup tool. Another advantage is that splitting one big task into smaller parts allows the developers to provide several user interfaces for the same program.

一个像 Maxima 这样的计算机代数系统（CAS，computer algebra system）也适合前述框架。Maxima 可以用作任意精度计算器程序的底层软件，也可以在更大计算系统中作为公式转换程序来帮助计算（例如 Sage）。Maxima 也可以直接作为独立的计算系统使用，它可以通过命令行来访问。然而，在通常情况下，像 wxMaxima 这样的用户界面是使用 Maxima 的一种更有效的方法，特别是对于新手而言更是如此。

### 2.1.1 Maxima

Maxima 是一个功能齐全的计算机代数系统（CAS）。CAS 是一个程序，它可以通过对公式变形并找到问题的解来求解数学问题，而不是仅仅输出结果的数值。换言之，Maxima 可以作为一个计算器，给出变量的数值表示，也可以提供解析解。此外，它还提供了一系列数值分析方法，用于求解没有解析解的方程或方程组。

Maxima 截图，命令行

Extensive documentation for Maxima is available in the internet. Part of this documentation is also available in wxMaximaâs help menu. Pressing the Help key (on most systems the `F1` key) causes _wxMaxima_âs context-sensitive help feature to automatically jump to _Maxima_âs manual page for the command at the cursor.

### 2.1.2 WxMaxima

WxMaxima is a graphical user interface that provides the full functionality and flexibility of Maxima. WxMaxima offers users a graphical display and many features that make working with Maxima easier. For example wxMaxima allows one to export any cellâs contents (or, if that is needed, any part of a formula, as well) as text, as LaTeX or as MathML specification at a simple right-click. Indeed, an entire workbook can be exported, either as a HTML file or as a LaTeX file. Documentation for wxMaxima, including workbooks to illustrate aspects of its use, is online at the wxMaxima help site, as well as via the help menu.

wxMaxima 界面

在 wxMaxima 中输入的计算式是由 Maxima 命令行工具在后台执行的。

## 2.2 Workbook basics

Much of wxMaxima is self-explaining, but some details require attention. This site contains a number of workbooks that address various aspects of wxMaxima. Working through some of these (particularly the “10 minute (wx)Maxima tutorial”) will increase oneâs familiarity with both the content of Maxima and the use of wxMaxima to interact with Maxima. This manual concentrates on describing aspects of wxMaxima that are not likely to be self-evident and that might not be covered in the online material.

### 2.2.1 The workbook approach

One of the very few things that are not standard in wxMaxima is that it organizes the data for Maxima into cells that are evaluated (which means: sent to Maxima) only when the user requests this. When a cell is evaluated, all commands in that cell, and only that cell, are evaluated as a batch. (The preceding statement is not quite accurate: One can select a set of adjacent cells and evaluate them together. Also, one can instruct Maxima to evaluate all cells in a workbook in one pass.) _WxMaxima_âs approach to submitting commands for execution might feel unfamiliar at the first sight. It does, however, drastically ease work with big documents (where the user does not want every change to automatically trigger a full re-evaluation of the whole document). Also, this approach is very handy for debugging.

如果输入文本到 wxMaxima 中，则会自动创建一个新的工作簿单元格。可以在工具栏中选择此单元格的类型。如果创建了一个（数学）代码单元格，则可以将该单元格发送到 Maxima，这将使得计算结果显示在代码下方。下面显示了一对这样的命令：

输入、输出单元格

On evaluation of an input cellâs contents the input cell Maxima assigns a label to the input (by default shown in red and recognizable by the `%i`) by which it can be referenced later in the wxMaxima session. The output that Maxima generates also gets a label that begins with `%o` and by default is hidden, except if the user assigns the output a name. In this case by default the user-defined label is displayed. The `%o`-style label Maxima auto-generates will also be accessible, though.

除了（数学）输入单元格外，wxMaxima 中还可以使用文本单元格、图片单元格、标题单元格、节单元格和小节单元格等。每个单元格都有独立的撤消缓冲区，因此通过更改多个单元格的内容，然后逐步撤销不需要的更改来进行调试，是非常容易的。此外，工作簿本身有一个全局撤消缓冲区，可以撤消单元格编辑、添加和删除操作。

下图显示了不同的单元格类型（标题单元格、节单元格、小节单元格、文本单元格、输入/输出单元格和图片单元格）：

wxMaxima 的不同类型单元格

### 2.2.2 Cells

The worksheet is organized in cells. WxMaxima knows the following cell types:

- Math cells, containing one or more lines of Maxima input. - Output of, or a question from, Maxima. - Image cells. - Text cells, that can for example be used for documentation. - A title, section or a subsection. 6 levels of different headings are possible. - Page breaks.

当输入文本时，wxMaxima 的默认行为是自动创建一个数学单元格。可以使用“单元格”菜单、菜单中显示的热键或工具栏中的下拉列表创建其他类型的单元格。一旦创建了非数学单元格，输入到文档的任何内容都将被解释为文本。

A (C-style) comment text can be part of a math cell as follows: `/* This comment will be ignored by Maxima */`

“`/*`” marks the start of the comment, “`*/`” the end.

### 2.2.3 Horizontal and vertical cursors

If the user tries to select a complete sentence, a word processor will try to extend the selection to automatically begin and end with a word boundary. Likewise, if more than one cell is selected, wxMaxima will extend the selection to whole cells.

What isnât standard is that wxMaxima provides drag-and-drop flexibility by defining two types of cursors. WxMaxima will switch between them automatically when needed:

- The cursor is drawn horizontally if it is moved in the space between two cells or by clicking there. - A vertical cursor that works inside a cell. This cursor is activated by moving the cursor inside a cell using the mouse pointer or the cursor keys and works much like the cursor in a text editor.

When you start wxMaxima, you will only see the blinking horizontal cursor. If you start typing, a math cell will be automatically created and the cursor will change to a regular vertical one (you will see a right arrow as “prompt”, after the Math cell is evaluated (`CTRL`+`ENTER`), you will see the labels, e.g. `(%i1)`, `(%o1)`).

(blinking) horizontal cursor after wxMaxima start

You might want to create a different cell type (using the “Cell” menu), maybe a title cell or text cell, which describes, what will be done, when you start creating your worksheet.

If you navigate between the different cells, you will also see the (blinking) horizontal cursor, where you can insert a cell into your worksheet (either a math cell, by just start typing your formula - or a different cell type using the menu).

(blinking) horizontal cursor between cells

### 2.2.4 Sending cells to Maxima

The command in a code cell is executed once by pressing `CTRL`+`ENTER`, `SHIFT`+`ENTER` or the `ENTER` key on the keypad. The wxMaxima default is to enter commands when either `CTRL`+`ENTER` or `SHIFT`+`ENTER` is entered, but wxMaxima can be configured to execute commands in response to `ENTER`.

### 2.2.5 Command autocompletion

WxMaxima contains an autocompletion feature that is triggered via the menu (Cell/Complete Word) or alternatively by pressing the key combination `CTRL`+`SPACE`. The autocompletion is context-sensitive. For example, if activated within a unit specification for ezUnits it will offer a list of applicable units.

ezUnits

Besides completing a file name, a unit name, or the current command or variable name, the autocompletion is able to show a template for most of the commands indicating the type (and meaning) of the parameters this program expects. To activate this feature press `SHIFT`+`CTRL`+`SPACE` or select the respective menu item (Cell/Show Template).

#### 2.2.5.1 Greek characters

计算机一般以 8 位值（8-bit）存储字符，所以最多可以储存 256 个不同字符。大部分语言中的所有字母、数字和控制符号（传输结束、字符串结束、为菜单绘制矩形的线条和边缘等）都符合该限制。

For most countries, the codepage of 256 characters that has been chosen does not include things like Greek letters, though, that are frequently used in mathematics. To overcome this type of limitation Unicode has been invented: An encoding that makes English text work like normal, but to use much more than 256 characters.

Maxima allows Unicode if it was compiled using a Lisp compiler that either supports Unicode or that doesnât care about the font encoding. As at least one of this pair of conditions is likely to be true. WxMaxima provides a method of entering Greek characters using the keyboard:

- A Greek letter can be entered by pressing the `ESC` key and then starting to type the Greek characterâs name. - Alternatively it can be entered by pressing `ESC`, one letter (or two for the Greek letter omicron) and `ESC` again. In this case the following letters are supported:

key | Greek letter | key | Greek letter | key | Greek letter
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
a | alpha | i | iota | r | rho
b | beta | k | kappa | s | sigma
g | gamma | l | lambda | t | tau
d | delta | m | mu | u | upsilon
e | epsilon | n | nu | f | phi
z | zeta | x | xi | c | chi
h | eta | om | omicron | y | psi
q | theta | p | pi | o | omega
A | Alpha | I | Iota | R | Rho
B | Beta | K | Kappa | S | Sigma
G | Gamma | L | Lambda | T | Tau
D | Delta | M | Mu | U | Upsilon
E | Epsilon | N | Nu | P | Phi
Z | Zeta | X | Xi | C | Chi
H | Eta | Om | Omicron | Y | Psi
T | Theta | P | Pi | O | Omega

You can also use the “Greek letters”-sidebar to enter the Greek letters.

##### 2.2.5.1.1 Attention: Lookalike characters

Several Latin letters look like the Greek letters, e.g. the Latin letter “A” and the Greek letter “Alpha”. Although they look identical, they are two different Unicode characters, represented by different Unicode code points (numbers).

This might be problematic, if you assign a value to the variable A and later use the Greek letter Alpha to do something with this variable, especially on printouts. For the Greek letter my (which is also used as prefix for micro) there are also two different Unicode code points.

The “Greek letters”-sidebar therefore has the option, that lookalike characters are not available (which can be changed using a right-click menu).

用同样的方法还可以输入一些其他的数学符号：

keys to enter | mathematical symbol
--- | ---
hbar | Planckâs constant: a h with a horizontal bar above it
Hbar | a H with a horizontal bar above it
2 | squared
3 | to the power of three
/2 | 1/2
partial | partial sign (the d of dx/dt)
integral | integral sign
sq | square root
ii | imaginary
ee | element
in | in
impl implies | implies
inf | infinity
empty | empty
TB | big triangle right
tb | small triangle right
and | and
or | or
xor | xor
nand | nand
nor | nor
equiv | equivalent to
not | not
union | union
inter | intersection
subseteq | subset or equal
subset | subset
notsubseteq | not subset or equal
notsubset | not subset
approx | approximately
propto | proportional to
neq != /= or # | not equal to
+/- or pm | a plus/minus sign
<= or leq | equal or less than
>= or geq | equal or greater than
<< or ll | much less than
>> or gg | much greater than
qed | end of proof
nabla | a nabla operator
sum | sum sign
prod | product sign
exists | there exists sign
nexists | there is no sign
parallel | a parallel sign
perp | a perpendicular sign
leadsto | a leads to sign
-> | a right arrow
–> | a long right arrow

You can also use the “Symbols”-sidebar to enter these Mathematical symbols.

If a special symbol isnât in the list, it is possible to input arbitrary Unicode characters by pressing `ESC` [number of the character (hexadecimal)] `ESC`. Additionally the “symbols” sidebar has a right-click menu that allow to display a list of all available Unicode symbols one can add to this toolbar or to the worksheet.

`ESC` `6` `1` `ESC` therefore results in an `a`.

Please note that most of these symbols (notable exceptions are the logic symbols) do not have a special meaning in Maxima and therefore will be interpreted as ordinary characters. If Maxima is compiled using a Lisp that doesnât support Unicode characters they might cause an error message.

It may be the case that e.g. Greek characters or mathematical symbols are not included in the selected font, then they can not be displayed. To solve that problem, select other fonts (using: Edit -> Configure -> Style).

### 2.2.6 Unicode replacement

wxMaxima will replace several Unicode characters with their respective Maxima expressions, e.g. “Â²” with “^2”, “Â³” with “^3”, the square root sign with the function `sqrt()`, the (mathematical) Sigma sign (which is not the same Unicode character as the corresponding Greek letter) with `sum()`, etc.

### 2.2.7 Side Panes

Shortcuts to the most important Maxima commands, things like a table of contents, windows with debug messages or a history of the last issued commands can be accessed using the side panes. They can be enabled using the “View” menu. They all can be moved to other locations inside or outside the wxMaxima window. Other useful panes is the one that allows to input Greek letters using the mouse.

各种类型的侧边栏

In the “table of contents” side pane, one can increase or decrease a heading by just clicking on the heading with the right mouse button and select the next higher or lower heading type.

Increase or decrease headings in the TOC side pane

### 2.2.8 MathML output

Several word processors and similar programs either recognize MathML input and automatically insert it as an editable 2D equation - or (like LibreOffice) have an equation editor that offers an âimport MathML from clipboardâ feature. Others support RTF maths. WxMaxima, therefore, offers several entries in the right-click menu.

### 2.2.9 Markdown support

WxMaxima offers a set of standard Markdown conventions that donât collide with mathematical notation. One of these elements is bullet lists.

    Ordinary text
     * One item, indentation level 1
     * Another item at indentation level 1
       * An item at a second indentation level
       * A second item at the second indentation level
     * A third item at the first indentation level
    Ordinary text

WxMaxima will recognize text starting with `>` chars as block quotes:

`Ordinary text > quote quote quote quote > quote quote quote quote > quote quote quote quote Ordinary text`

_WxMaxima_âs TeX and HTML output will also recognize `=>` and replace it by the corresponding Unicode sign:

`cogito => sum.`

Other symbols the HTML and TeX export will recognize are `<=` and `>=` for comparisons, a double-pointed double arrow (`<=>`), single-headed arrows (`<->`, `->` and `<-`) and `+/-` as the respective sign. For TeX output also `<<` and `>>` are recognized.

### 2.2.10 Hotkeys

大多数快捷键可以在相应菜单的文本中找到。由于它们实际上是从菜单文本中获取的，所以可以通过 wxMaxima 的翻译文本进行定制，以满足本地用户的需求，因此我们不在这里记录它们。但是，一些快捷键或其别名并没有记录在菜单中：

- `CTRL`+`SHIFT`+`DELETE` deletes a complete cell. - `CTRL`+`TAB` or `CTRL`+`SHIFT`+`TAB` triggers the auto-completion mechanism. - `SHIFT`+`SPACE` inserts a non-breaking space.

### 2.2.11 Raw TeX in the TeX export

如果文本单元格以 `TeX:` 开头，则导出 TeX 时，文件将包含 `TeX:` 标记后面的文本。使用此功能可以在 wxMaxima 工作簿中输入 TeX 代码。

## 2.3 File Formats

在 wxMaxima 中输入的内容可以存为以下三种文件格式之一，以供以后使用：

### 2.3.1 .mac

`.mac` files are ordinary text files that contain Maxima commands. They can be read using _Maxima_âs `batch()` or `load()` command or _wxMaxima_âs File/Batch File menu entry.

One example is shown below. `Quadratic.mac` defines a function and afterward generates a plot with `wxdraw2d()`. Afterward the contents of the file `Quadratic.mac` are printed and newly defined function `f()` is evaluated.

Loading a file with `batch()`

Attention: Although the file `Quadratic.mac` has a usual Maxima extension (`.mac`), it can only be read by wxMaxima, since the command `wxdraw2d()` is a wxMaxima-extension to Maxima. (Command line) Maxima will ignore the unknown command `wxdraw2d()` and print it as output again.

You can be use `.mac` files for writing your own library of macros. But since they donât contain enough structural information they cannot be read back as a wxMaxima session.

### 2.3.2 .wxm

`.wxm` files contain the worksheet except for _Maxima_âs output. On Maxima versions >5.38 they can be read using _Maxima_âs `load()` function just as .mac files can be. With this plain-text format, it sometimes is unavoidable that worksheets that use new features are not downwards-compatible with older versions of wxMaxima.

#### 2.3.2.1 File format of wxm files

This is just a plain text file (you can open it with a text editor), containing the cell contents as some special Maxima comments.

It starts with the following comment:

`/* [wxMaxima batch file version 1] [ DO NOT EDIT BY HAND! ]*/ /* [ Created with wxMaxima version 24.02.2_DevelopmentSnapshot ] */`

And then the cells follow, encoded as Maxima comments, e.g. a section cell:

    /* [wxMaxima: section start ]
    Title of the section
       [wxMaxima: section end   ] */

or (in a Math cell the input is of course not commented out (the output is not saved in a `wxm` file)):

    /* [wxMaxima: input   start ] */
    f(x):=x^2+1$
    f(2);
    /* [wxMaxima: input   end   ] */

Images are Base64 encoded with the image type as first line):

    /* [wxMaxima: image   start ]
    jpg
    [very chaotic looking character sequence]
       [wxMaxima: image   end   ] */

A page break is just one line containing:

    /* [wxMaxima: page break    ] */

And folded cells marked by:

    /* [wxMaxima: fold    start ] */
    ...
    /* [wxMaxima: fold    end   ] */

### 2.3.3 .wxmx

这种基于 XML 的文件格式保存了完整的工作簿内容，包括缩放因子和观察列表等内容。它是首选的文件格式。

#### 2.3.3.1 File format of wxmx files

A `wxmx`-file seems to be a binary format, but one can handle it with tools, which are included in your OS. It is a zip file, one can decompress it with `unzip` (maybe rename it before, so that is recognized by the unzip program of your OS). We do not use the compression function, just the possibility to merge several files into one file - images are already compressed and the rest is simple text (probably much smaller, than huge images, which are included).

It does contain the following files:

- `mimetype`: this file does contain the mimetype of wxMaxima files: `text/x-wxmathml` - `format.txt`: a short description about wxMaxima and the wxmx file format - Images (e.g. png, jpeg): inline plots which were produced in the wxMaxima session and included images. - `content.xml`: a XML document, which contains the various cells of your document in XML format.

So, if something goes wrong, you can unzip a wxMaxima document (maybe rename it before to a `zip`-file), maybe make changes in the `content.xml` file with a text editor, or replace an broken image, zip the files again, probably rename the `zip` to a `wxmx`-file - and you get another modified `wxmx`-file.

## 2.4 Configuration options

对于一些常见的可设置变量，wxMaxima提供了两种设置方法：

- The configuration dialog box below lets you change their default values for the current and subsequent sessions. - Also, the values for most configuration variables can be changed for the current session only by overwriting their values from the worksheet, as shown below.

wxMaxima 设置对话框

### 2.4.1 Default animation framerate

用于新生成动图的帧率保存在变量 `wxanimate_framerate` 中，可以使用设置对话框更改此变量在新工作簿中的初始值。

### 2.4.2 Default plot size for new maxima sessions

After the next start, plots embedded into the worksheet will be created with this size if the value of `wxplot_size` isnât changed by maxima.

In order to set the plot size of a single graph only use the following notation can be used that sets a variableâs value for one command only:

    wxdraw2d(
       explicit(
           x^2,
           x,-5,5
       )
    ), wxplot_size=[480,480]$

### 2.4.3 Match parenthesis in text controls

该选项使以下两个功能生效：

- If an opening parenthesis, bracket, or double quote is entered wxMaxima will insert a closing one after it. - If text is selected if any of these keys is pressed the selected text will be put between the matched signs.

### 2.4.4 Donât save the worksheet automatically

If this option is set, the file where the worksheet is will be overwritten only the request of the user. In case of a crash/power loss/… a recent backup copy is still made available in the temp directory, though.

If this option isnât set wxMaxima behaves more like a modern cellphone app:

- Files are saved automatically on exit - And the file will automatically be saved every 3 minutes.

### 2.4.5 Where is the configuration saved?

If you are using Unix/Linux, the configuration information will be saved in a file `.wxMaxima` in your home directory (if you are using wxWidgets < 3.1.1), or `.config/wxMaxima.conf` ((XDG-Standard) if wxWidgets >= 3.1.1 is used). You can retrieve the wxWidgets version from the command `wxbuild_info();` or by using the menu option Help->About. wxWidgets is the cross-platform GUI library, which is the base for wxMaxima (therefore the `wx` in the name). (Since the filename starts with a dot, `.wxMaxima` or `.config` will be hidden).

当使用 Windows 系统时，配置信息将存储在注册表中。在注册表中的以下位置可以找到 wxMaxima 的相关条目：`HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\wxMaxima`。

# 3 Extensions to Maxima

WxMaxima is primarily a graphical user interface for Maxima. As such, its main purpose is to pass along commands to Maxima and to report the results of executing those commands. In some cases, however, wxMaxima adds functionality to Maxima. _WxMaxima_âs ability to generate reports by exporting a workbookâs contents to HTML and LaTeX files has been mentioned. This section considers some ways that wxMaxima enhances the inclusion of graphics in a session.

## 3.1 Subscripted variables

`wxsubscripts` specifies, if (and how) wxMaxima will autosubscript variable names:

If it is `false`, the functionality is off, wxMaxima will not autosubscript part of variable names after an underscore.

If it is set to `'all`, everything after an underscore will be subscripted.

If it is set to `true` variable names of the format `x_y` are displayed using a subscript if

- Either `x` or `y` is a single letter or - `y` is an integer (can include more than one character).

How variables are autosubscripted using wxsubscripts

If the variable name doesnât match these requirements, it can still be declared as “to be subscripted” using the command `wxdeclare_subscript(variable_name);` or `wxdeclare_subscript([variable_name1,variable_name2,...]);` Declaring a variable as subscripted can be reverted using the following command: `wxdeclare_subscript(variable_name,false);`

You can use the menu “View->Autosubscript” to set these values.

## 3.2 User feedback in the status bar

Long-running commands can provide user feedback in the status bar. This user feedback is replaced by any new feedback that is placed there (allowing to use it as a progress indicator) and is deleted as soon as the current command sent to Maxima is finished. It is safe to use `wxstatusbar()` even in libraries that might be used with plain Maxima (as opposed to wxMaxima): If wxMaxima isnât present the `wxstatusbar()` command will just be left unevaluated.

    for i:1 thru 10 do (
        /* Tell the user how far we got */
        wxstatusbar(concat("Pass ",i)),
        /* (sleep n) is a Lisp function, which can be used */
        /* with the character "?" before. It delays the */
        /* program execution (here: for 3 seconds) */
        ?sleep(3)
    )$

## 3.3 Plotting

因为绘图功能与图形密切相关，所以图形用户界面理应为原始程序的绘图功能提供一些扩充内容。

### 3.3.1 Embedding a plot into the worksheet

Maxima normally instructs the external program Gnuplot to open a separate window for every diagram it creates. Since many times it is convenient to embed graphs into the worksheet instead wxMaxima provides its own set of plot functions that donât differ from the corresponding maxima functions save in their name: They are all prefixed by a âwxâ.

The following plotting functions have wx-counterparts:

wxMaximaâs plot function | Maximaâs plot function
--- | ---
`wxplot2d()` | plot2d
`wxplot3d()` | plot3d
`wxdraw2d()` | draw2d
`wxdraw3d()` | draw2d
`wxdraw()` | draw
`wximplicit_plot()` | implicit_plot
`wxhistogram()` | histogram
`wxscatterplot()` | scatterplot
`wxbarsplot()` | barsplot
`wxpiechart()` | piechart
`wxboxplot()` | boxplot

If a `wxm`-file is read by (console) Maxima, these functions are ignored (and printed as output, as other unknown functions in Maxima).

### 3.3.2 Making embedded plots bigger or smaller

As noted above, the configure dialog provides a way to change the default size plots created which sets the starting value of `wxplot_size`. The plotting routines of wxMaxima respect this variable that specifies the size of a plot in pixels. It can always be queried or used to set the size of the following plots:

    wxplot_size:[1200,800]$
    wxdraw2d(
        explicit(
            sin(x),
            x,1,10
        )
    )$

如果只更改一个绘制图片的大小，wxMaxima 提供了一种只为当前单元格更改属性的方法。具体用法为，将 `wxplot_size=[value1,value2]` 附加到 `wxdraw2d()` 命令结尾，而不是作为该命令的一部分：

    wxdraw2d(
        explicit(
            sin(x),
            x,1,10
        )
    ),wxplot_size=[1600,800]$

Setting the size of embedded plot with `wxplot_size` works for embedded plots using e.g. `wxplot`, `wxdraw`, `wxcontour_plot` and `wximplicit_plot` commands and for embedded animations with `with_slider_draw` and `wxanimate` commands.

### 3.3.3 Better quality plots

Gnuplot doesnât seem to provide a portable way of determining whether it supports the high-quality bitmap output that the Cairo library provides. On systems where Gnuplot is compiled to use this library the pngCairo option from the configuration menu (that can be overridden by the variable `wxplot_pngcairo`) enables support for antialiasing and additional line styles. If `wxplot_pngCairo` is set without Gnuplot supporting this the result will be error messages instead of graphics.

### 3.3.4 Opening embedded plots in interactive Gnuplot windows

If a plot was generated using the `wxdraw`-type commands (`wxplot2d` and `wxplot3d` isnât supported by this feature) and the file size of the underlying Gnuplot project isnât way too high wxMaxima offers a right-click menu that allows to open the plot in an interactive Gnuplot window.

### 3.3.5 Opening Gnuplotâs command console in `plot` windows

On MS Windows, there are two Gnuplot programs, `gnuplot.exe` and `wgnuplot.exe`. You can configure, which command should be used using the configuration menu. `wgnuplot.exe` offers the possibility to open a console window, where gnuplot commands can be entered into, `gnuplot.exe` does not offer this possibility. Unfortunately, `wgnuplot.exe` causes Gnuplot to “steal” the keyboard focus for a short time every time a plot is prepared.

### 3.3.6 Embedding animations into the spreadsheet

3D diagrams tend to make it hard to read quantitative data. A viable alternative might be to assign the 3rd parameter to the mouse wheel. The `with_slider_draw` command is a version of `wxdraw2d` that does prepare multiple plots and allows to switch between them by moving the slider on top of the screen. WxMaxima allows to export this animation as an animated gif.

`with_slider_draw` 命令的前两个参数是用于控制绘图的变量名称和变量值的列表，接下来的参数与 `wxdraw2d` 命令的参数相同：

    with_slider_draw(
        f,[1,2,3,4,5,6,7,10],
        title=concat("f=",f,"Hz"),
        explicit(
            sin(2*%pi*f*x),
            x,0,1
        ),grid=true
    );

对三维绘图而言，类似的功能由命令 `with_slider_draw3d` 提供，可用参数来旋转三维图形：

    wxanimate_autoplay:true;
    wxanimate_framerate:20;
    with_slider_draw3d(
        Î±,makelist(i,i,1,360,3),
        title=sconcat("Î±=",Î±),
        surface_hide=true,
        contour=both,
        view=[60,Î±],
        explicit(
            sin(x)*sin(y),
            x,-Ï,Ï,
            y,-Ï,Ï
        )
    )$

如果重要的是图的大致形状，那么只要稍微移动一点，就可以直观地看出它的三维特征：

    wxanimate_autoplay:true;
    wxanimate_framerate:20;
    with_slider_draw3d(
        t,makelist(i,i,0,2*Ï,.05*Ï),
        title=sconcat("Î±=",Î±),
        surface_hide=true,
        contour=both,
        view=[60,30+5*sin(t)],
        explicit(
            sin(x)*y^2,
            x,-2*Ï,2*Ï,
            y,-2*Ï,2*Ï
        )
    )$

For those more familiar with `plot` than with `draw`, there is a second set of functions:

- `with_slider` and - `wxanimate`.

Normally the animations are played back or exported with the frame rate chosen in the configuration of wxMaxima. To set the speed at an individual animation is played back the variable `wxanimate_framerate` can be used:

    wxanimate(a, 10,
        sin(a*x), [x,-5,5]), wxanimate_framerate=6$

The animation functions use _Maxima_âs `makelist` command and therefore share the pitfall that the slider variableâs value is substituted into the expression only if the variable is directly visible in the expression. Therefore the following example will fail:

    f:sin(a*x);
    with_slider_draw(
        a,makelist(i/2,i,1,10),
        title=concat("a=",float(a)),
        grid=true,
        explicit(f,x,0,10)
    )$

If Maxima is explicitly asked to substitute the sliderâs value plotting works fine instead:

    f:sin(a*x);
    with_slider_draw(
        b,makelist(i/2,i,1,10),
        title=concat("a=",float(b)),
        grid=true,
        explicit(
            subst(a=b,f),
            x,0,10
        )
    )$

### 3.3.7 Opening multiple plots in contemporaneous windows

While not being provided by wxMaxima this feature of Maxima (on setups that support it) sometimes comes in handily. The following example comes from a post from Mario Rodriguez to the Maxima mailing list:

```maxima load(draw);

/* Parabola in window #1 */ draw2d(terminal=[wxt,1],explicit(x^2,x,-1,1));

/* Parabola in window #2 */ draw2d(terminal=[wxt,2],explicit(x^2,x,-1,1));

/* Paraboloid in window #3 */ draw3d(terminal=[wxt,3],explicit(x2+y2,x,-1,1,y,-1,1)); ```

Plotting multiple plots in the same window is possible, too (the same is possible in command line Maxima with the standard `draw()` command):

    wxdraw(
      gr2d(
        key="sin (x)",grid=[2,2],
        explicit(sin(x),x,0,2*%pi)),
      gr2d(
        key="cos (x)",grid=[2,2],
        explicit(cos(x),x,0,2*%pi))
    );

### 3.3.8 The “Plot using draw” side pane

The “Plot using draw” sidebar hides a simple code generator that allows generating scenes that make use of some of the flexibility of the draw package maxima comes with.

#### 3.3.8.1 2D

Generates the skeleton of a `draw()` command that draws a 2D scene. This scene later has to be filled with commands that generate the sceneâs contents, for example by using the buttons in the rows below the “2D” button.

One helpful feature of the 2D button is that it allows to set up the scene as an animation in which a variable (by default it is t) has a different value in each frame: Often a moving 2D plot allows easier interpretation than the same data in a non-moving 3D one.

#### 3.3.8.2 3D

Generates the skeleton of a `draw()` command that draws a 3D scene. If neither a 2D nor a 3D scene is set up, all of the other buttons set up a 2D scene that contains the command the button generates.

#### 3.3.8.3 Expression

在光标当前所在的 `draw()` 命令中添加绘图函数表达式，如 `sin(x)`, `x*sin(x)` 或者 `x^2+2*x-4` 等 。每个图中可以绘制任意数量的图形。如果没有 `draw()` 命令，将调用绘制二维图形的模板。

#### 3.3.8.4 Implicit plot

尝试寻找满足 `y=sin(x)`，`y*sin(x)=3` 或 `x^2+y^2=4` 之类的表达式的所有解，并在光标当前所在的 `draw()` 命令中绘制对应曲线。如果没有 `draw()` 命令，将调用绘制二维图形的模板。

#### 3.3.8.5 Parametric plot

将变量（如 t）从下限变化到上限，并在当前绘图命令中使用两个表达式（如 `t*sin(t)` 和 `t*cos(t)`），以生成曲线上点的横、纵坐标 (x,y)（在三维图形中，第三个表达式生成竖坐标 z）。

#### 3.3.8.6 Points

绘制多个点，并且可以选择顺次连接它们。点的坐标取自列表的列表、二维数组或为每个轴指定的一个列表或数组。

#### 3.3.8.7 Diagram title

在图形上方绘制标题。

#### 3.3.8.8 Axis

设置坐标轴。

#### 3.3.8.9 Contour

(Only for 3D plots): Adds contour lines similar to the ones one can find in a map of a mountain to the plot commands that follow in the current `draw()` command and/or to the ground plane of the diagram. Alternatively, this wizard allows skipping drawing the curves entirely only showing the contour plot.

#### 3.3.8.10 Plot name

Adds a legend entry showing the next plotâs name to the legend of the diagram. An empty name disables generating legend entries for the following plots.

#### 3.3.8.11 Line colour

为当前 `draw()` 命令所绘图形设置线条颜色。

#### 3.3.8.12 Fill colour

为当前 `draw()` 命令所绘图形设置填充颜色。

#### 3.3.8.13 Grid

弹出设置网格线的向导。

#### 3.3.8.14 Accuracy

允许选择适当数目的点，以兼顾速度与精度（任何绘图程序都会权衡两者）。

### 3.3.9 Modify font and font size for plots.

Especially when you use a high resolution display, the default font size might be very small. For the `draw`-based commands, you can set the font / font size using options like `font=...`, `font_size=...`, e.g.:

    wxdraw2d(
         font="Helvetica",
         font_size=30,
         explicit(sin(x),x,1,10));

For the `plot`-commands (e.g. `wxplot2d`, `wxplot3d`) font sizes and fonts can be set using the `gnuplot_preamble` command, e.g.:

    wxplot2d(sin(x),[x,1,10],
             [gnuplot_preamble, "set tics font \"Arial, 30\"; set xlabel font \",20\"; set ylabel font \",20\";"]);

This sets the font for the numbers to Arial with size 30, the size for the xlabel and ylabel font to 20 (with the default font).

Read the Maxima and Gnuplot documentation for further information. Note: Gnuplot seems to have issues with larger font sizes, see wxMaxima issue 1966.

## 3.4 Embedding graphics

If the `.wxmx` file format is being used embedding files in a wxMaxima project can be done as easily as per drag-and-drop. But sometimes (for example if an imageâs contents might change later on in a session) it is better to tell the file to load the image on evaluation:

`maxima show_image("man.png");`

## 3.5 Startup files

在 wxMaxima 的设置对话框中可以编辑两个文件的命令，这些命令在启动时被执行：

- A file that contains commands that are executed on starting up Maxima: `maxima-init.mac` - one file of additional commands that are executed if wxMaxima is starting Maxima: `wxmaxima-init.mac`

For example, if Gnuplot is installed in `/opt` (maybe on MacOS), you can add `gnuplot_command:"/opt/local/bin/gnuplot"$` (or `/opt/gnuplot/bin/gnuplot` or any other path) to these files.

These files are in the Maxima user directory (usually `%USERPROFILE%/maxima` in Windows, `$HOME/.maxima` otherwise). The location can be found out with the command: `maxima_userdir;`

## 3.6 Special variables wx…

- `wxsubscripts` tells Maxima if it should convert variable names that contain an underscore (`R_150` or the like) into subscripted variables. See `wxdeclare_subscript` for details which variable names are automatically converted. - `wxfilename`: This variable contains the name of the file currently opened in wxMaxima. - `wxdirname`: This variable contains the name the directory, in which the file currently opened in wxMaxima is. - `wxplot_pngcairo` tells whether wxMaxima tries to use _Gnuplot_âs pngcairo terminal that provides more line styles and a better overall graphics quality. - `wxplot_size` defines the resolution of embedded plots. - `wxchangedir`: On most operating systems wxMaxima automatically sets _Maxima_âs working directory to the directory of the current file. This allows file I/O (e.g. by `read_matrix`) to work without specifying the whole path to the file that has to be read or written. On Windows this feature sometimes causes error messages and therefore can be set to `false` from the config dialogue. - `wxanimate_framerate`: The number of frames per second the following animations have to be played back with. - `wxanimate_autoplay`: Automatically play animations by default? - `wxmaximaversion`: Returns the version number of wxMaxima. - `wxwidgetsversion`: Returns the wxWidgets version wxMaxima is using.

## 3.7 Pretty-printing 2D output

The function `table_form()` displays a 2D list in a form that is more readable than the output from _Maxima_âs default output routine. The input is a list of one or more lists. Like the “print” command, this command displays output even when ended with a dollar sign. Ending the command with a semicolon results in the same table along with a “done” statement.

    table_form(
        [
            [1,2],
            [3,4]
        ]
    )$

正如下一个例子所示，可以在执行 `table_form` 命令之前创建需要显示的列表。

一个三行表的例子

此外，由于矩阵是含列表的列表，它也可以用类似的方式转换为表格。

另一个 table_form 的例子

## 3.8 Bug reporting

WxMaxima provides a few functions that gather bug reporting information about the current system:

- `wxbuild_info()` gathers information about the currently running version of wxMaxima - `wxbug_report()` tells how and where to file bugs

## 3.9 Marking output being drawn in red

_Maxima_âs `box()` command causes wxMaxima to print its argument with a red foreground, if the second argument to the command is the text `highlight`.

# 4 Help menu

WxMaximaâs help menu provides access to the Maxima and wxMaxima manual, tips, some example worksheets and in command line Maxima included demos (the `demo()` command).

Please notice, that the demos write:

~~~ At the â_â prompt, type â;â and to proceed with the demonstration. ~~~

That is valid for command-line Maxima, however in wxMaxima by default it is necessary to continue the demonstration with: `CTRL`+`ENTER`

(That can be configured in the Configure->Worksheet->“Hotkeys for sending commands to Maxima” menu.)

# 5 Troubleshooting

## 5.1 Cannot connect to Maxima

Since Maxima (the program that does the actual mathematics) and wxMaxima (providing the easy-to-use user interface) are separate programs that communicate by the means of a local network connection. Therefore the most probable cause is that this connection is somehow not working. For example, a firewall could be set up in a way that it doesnât just prevent unauthorized connections from the internet (and perhaps intercept some connections to the internet, too), but also blocks inter-process-communication inside the same computer. Note that since Maxima is being run by a Lisp processor the process communication that is blocked does not necessarily have to be named “maxima”. Common names of the program that opens the network connection would be sbcl, gcl, ccl, lisp.exe, or similar names.

On Unix computers another possible reason would be that the loopback network that provides network connections between two programs in the same computer isnât properly configured.

## 5.2 How to save data from a broken .wxmx file

Internally most modern XML-based formats are ordinary zip files. WxMaxima doesnât turn on compression, so the contents of `.wxmx` files can be viewed in any text editor.

If the zip signature at the end of the file is still intact after renaming a broken `.wxmx` file to `.zip` most operating systems will provide a way to extract any portion of the information that is stored inside it. This can be done when there is a need of recovering the original image files from a text processor document. If the zip signature isnât intact that does not need to be the end of the world: If wxMaxima during saving detected that something went wrong there will be a `.wxmx~` file whose contents might help.

And even if there isnât such a file: The `.wxmx` file is a container format and the XML portion is stored uncompressed. It it is possible to rename the `.wxmx` file to a `.txt` file and to use a text editor to recover the XML portion of the fileâs contents (it starts with `<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>` and ends with `</wxMaximaDocument>`. Before and after that text you will see some unreadable binary contents in the text editor).

If a text file containing only these contents (e.g. copy and paste this text into a new file) is saved as a file ending in `.xml`, wxMaxima will know how to recover the text from the document.

## 5.3 I want some debug info to be displayed on the screen before my command

has finished

通常 wxMaxima 会等待最后的公式形成后才开始输出，这节省了多次尝试输出部分公式的时间。不过， `disp()` 命令可以立即输出调试信息，而不必等待当前的 Maxima 命令完成：

    for i:1 thru 10 do (
       disp(i),
       /* (sleep n) is a Lisp function, which can be used */
       /* with the character "?" before. It delays the */
       /* program execution (here: for 3 seconds) */
       ?sleep(3)
    )$

Alternatively one can look for the `wxstatusbar()` command above.

## 5.4 Plotting only shows a closed empty envelope with an error message

This means that wxMaxima could not read the file Maxima that was supposed to instruct Gnuplot to create.

这个错误的可能原因如下：

- The plotting command is part of a third-party package like `implicit_plot` but this package was not loaded by _Maxima_âs `load()` command before trying to plot. - Maxima tried to do something the currently installed version of Gnuplot isnât able to understand. In this case, a file ending in `.gnuplot` located in the directory, which _Maxima_âs variable `maxima_userdir` is pointing, contains the instructions from Maxima to Gnuplot. Most of the time, this fileâs contents therefore are helpful when debugging the problem. - Gnuplot was instructed to use the pngCairo library that provides antialiasing and additional line styles, but it was not compiled to support this possibility. Solution: Uncheck the “Use the Cairo terminal for the plot” checkbox in the configuration dialog and donât set `wxplot_pngcairo` to true from Maxima. - Gnuplot didnât output a valid `.png` file.

## 5.5 Plotting an animation results in âerror: undefined variableâ

The value of the slider variable by default is only substituted into the expression that is to be plotted if it is visible there. Using a `subst` command that substitutes the slider variable into the equation to plot resolves this problem. At the end of section Embedding animations into the spreadsheet, you can see an example.

## 5.6 I lost cell content and undo doesnât remember

对单元格的操作和单元格内部的更改均有单独的撤消函数，因此发生这种情况的可能性很低。如果确实是这样，有如下方法可以恢复数据：

- WxMaxima actually has two undo features: The global undo buffer that is active if no cell is selected and a per-cell undo buffer that is active if the cursor is inside a cell. It is worth trying to use both undo options in order to see if an old value can still be accessed. - If you still have a way to find out what label Maxima has assigned to the cell just type in the cellâs label and its contents will reappear. - If you donât: Donât panic. In the âViewâ menu there is a way to show a history pane that shows all Maxima commands that have been issued recently. - If nothing else helps Maxima contains a replay feature:

`maxima playback();`

## 5.7 WxMaxima starts up with the message âMaxima process terminated.â

One possible reason is that Maxima cannot be found in the location that is set in the âMaximaâ tab of _wxMaxima_âs configuration dialog and therefore wonât run at all. Setting the path to a working Maxima binary should fix this problem.

## 5.8 Maxima is forever calculating and not responding to input

It is theoretically possible that wxMaxima doesnât realize that Maxima has finished calculating and therefore never gets informed it can send new data to Maxima. If this is the case âTrigger evaluationâ might resynchronize the two programs.

## 5.9 My SBCL-based Maxima runs out of memory

The Lisp compiler SBCL by default comes with a memory limit that allows it to run even on low-end computers. When compiling a big software package like Lapack or dealing with extremely big lists of equations this limit might be too low. In order to extend the limits, SBCL can be provided with the command line parameter `--dynamic-space-size` that tells SBCL how many megabytes it should reserve. A 32bit Windows-SBCL can reserve up to 999 Megabytes. A 64-bit SBCL version running on Windows can be instructed to use more than the about 1280 Megabytes compiling Lapack needs.

One way to provide Maxima (and thus SBCL) with command line parameters is the “Additional parameters for Maxima” field of _wxMaxima_âs configuration dialogue.

SBCL 内存

## 5.10 Input sometimes is sluggish/ignoring keys on Ubuntu

安装软件包 `ibus-gtk` 应该可以解决此问题. 详情见 https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/wxwidgets3.0/+bug/1421558。

## 5.11 WxMaxima halts when Maxima processes Greek characters or Umlauts

如果所使用的 Maxima 基于SBCL，则必须将以下行添加到 `.sbclrc` 文件中：

`commonlisp (setf sb-impl::*default-external-format* :utf-8)`

The folder where this file has to be placed is system- and installation-specific. But any SBCL-based Maxima that already has evaluated a cell in the current session will happily tell where it can be found after getting the following command:

`:lisp (sb-impl::userinit-pathname)`

## 5.12 Note concerning Wayland (recent Linux/BSD distributions)

There seem to be issues with the Wayland Display Server and wxWidgets. WxMaxima may be affected, e.g. that sidebars are not moveable.

You can either disable Wayland and use X11 instead (globally) or just tell, that wxMaxima should use the X Window System by setting: `GDK_BACKEND=x11`

E.g. start wxMaxima with:

`GDK_BACKEND=x11 wxmaxima`

## 5.13 Why is the integrated manual browser not offered on my Windows PC?

Either wxWidgets wasnât compiled with support for Microsoftâs webview2 or Microsoftâs webview2 isnât installed.

## 5.14 Why is the external manual browser not working on my Linux box?

The HTML browser might be a snap, flatpack or appimage version. All of these typically cannot access files that are installed on your local system. Another reason might be that maxima or wxMaxima is installed as a snap, flatpack or something else that doesnât give the host system access to its contents. A third reason might be that the maxima HTML manual isnât installed and the online one cannot be accessed.

## 5.15 Can I make wxMaxima output both image files and embedded plots at once?

The worksheet embeds `.png files. WxMaxima allows the user to specify where they should be generated:

    wxdraw2d(
        file_name="test",  /* extension .png automatically added */
        explicit(sin(x),x,1,10)
    );

If a different format is to be used, it is easier to generate the images and then import them into the worksheet again:

    load("draw");
    pngdraw(name,[contents]):=
    (
        draw(
            append(
                [
                    terminal=pngcairo,
                    dimensions=wxplot_size,
                    file_name=name
                ],
                contents
            )
        ),
        show_image(printf(false,"~a.png",name))
    );
    pngdraw2d(name,[contents]):=
        pngdraw(name,gr2d(contents));

    pngdraw2d("Test",
            explicit(sin(x),x,1,10)
    );

## 5.16 Can I set the aspect ratio of an embedded plot?

Use the variable `wxplot_size`:

    wxdraw2d(
        explicit(sin(x),x,1,10)
    ),wxplot_size=[1000,1000];

## 5.17 After upgrading to MacOS 13.1 plot and/or draw commands output error

messages like

`1 HIToolbox 0x00007ff80cd91726 _ZN15MenuBarInstance22EnsureAutoShowObserverEv + 102 2 HIToolbox 0x00007ff80cd912b8 _ZN15MenuBarInstance14EnableAutoShowEv + 52 3 HIToolbox 0x00007ff80cd35908 SetMenuBarObscured + 408 ...`

This might be an issue with the operating system. Disable the hiding of the menu bar (SystemSettings => Desktop & Dock => Menu Bar) might solve the issue. See wxMaxima issue #1746 for more information.

# 6 FAQ

## 6.1 Is there a way to make more text fit on a LaTeX page?

Yes. Use the LaTeX package “geometry” to specify the size of the borders.

You can add the following line to the LaTeX preamble (for example by using the respective field in the config dialogue (“Export”->“Additional lines for the TeX preamble”), to set borders of 1cm):

`latex \usepackage[left=1cm,right=1cm,top=1cm,bottom=1cm]{geometry}`

## 6.2 Is there a dark mode?

If wxWidgets is new enough, wxMaxima will automatically be in dark mode if the rest of the operating system is. The worksheet itself is by default equipped with a bright background. But it can be configured otherwise. Alternatively, there is a `View/Invert worksheet brightness` menu entry that allows to quickly convert the worksheet from dark to bright and vice versa.

## 6.3 WxMaxima sometimes hangs for several seconds once in the first minute

WxMaxima delegates some big tasks like parsing _Maxima_âs >1000-page-manual to background tasks, which normally goes totally unnoticed. At the moment the result of such a task is needed, though, it is possible that wxMaxima needs to wait a couple of seconds before it can continue its work.

## 6.4 Especially when testing new locale settings, a message box “locale âxx_YYâ can not be set” occurs

Locale warning

(The same problem can occur with other applications too). The translations seem okay after you click on âOKâ. WxMaxima does not only use its own translations but the translations of the wxWidgets framework too.

These locales maybe not present in the system. On Ubuntu/Debian systems they can be generated using: `dpkg-reconfigure locales`

## 6.5 How can I use symbols for real numbers, natural numbers (â, â), etc.?

You can find these symbols in the Unicode sidebar (search for âdouble-struck capitalâ). But the selected font must also support these symbols. If they do not display properly, select another font.

## 6.6 How can a Maxima script determine, if it is running under wxMaxima or

command line Maxima?

If wxMaxima is used, the Maxima variable `maxima_frontend` is set to `wxmaxima`. The Maxima variable `maxima_frontend_version` contains the wxMaxima version in this case.

If no frontend is used (you are using command line Maxima), these variables are `false`.

# 7 Command-line arguments

Usually you can start programs with a graphical user interface just by clicking on a desktop icon or desktop menu entry. WxMaxima - if started from the command line - still provides some command-line switches, though.

- `-v` 或 `--version`：输出版本信息。
- `-h` 或 `--help`: 输出简短的帮助文本。
- `-o` or `--open=<str>`: Open the filename given as an argument to this command-line switch
- `-e` 或 `--eval`：打开文件后对公式单元格求值。
- `-b` or `--batch`: If the command-line opens a file all cells in this file are evaluated and the file is saved afterward. This is for example useful if the session described in the file makes Maxima generate output files. Batch-processing will be stopped if wxMaxima detects that Maxima has output an error and will pause if Maxima has a question: Mathematics is somewhat interactive by nature so a completely interaction-free batch processing cannot always be guaranteed.
- `--logtostderr`: Log all “debug messages” sidebar messages to stderr, too.
- `--pipe`: Pipe messages from Maxima to stdout.
- `--exit-on-error`: Close the program on any maxima error.
- `-f` or `--ini=<str>`: Use the init file that was given as an argument to this command-line switch
- `-u`, `--use-version=<str>`: Use maxima version `<str>`.
- `-l`, `--lisp=<str>`: Use a Maxima compiled with Lisp compiler `<str>`.
- `-X`, `--extra-args=<str>`: Allows to specify extra Maxima arguments
- `-m` or `--maxima=<str>`: allows specifying the location of the maxima binary
- `--enableipc`: Lets Maxima control wxMaxima via interprocess communications. Use this option with care.
- `--wxmathml-lisp=<str>`: Location of wxMathML.lisp (if not the built-in should be used, mainly for developers).

Instead of a minus, some operating systems might use a dash in front of the command-line switches.

# 8 About the program, contributing to wxMaxima

wxMaxima is mainly developed using the programming language C++ using the wxWidgets framework, as build system we use CMake, a small part is written in Lisp. You can contribute to wxMaxima, join the wxMaxima project at https://github.com/wxMaxima-developers/wxmaxima, if you have knowledge of these programming languages and want to help and contribute to the open source project wxMaxima.

But not only programmers are necessary! You can also contribute to wxMaxima, if you help to improve the documentation, find and report bugs (and maybe bugfixes), suggest new features, help to translate wxMaxima or the manual to your language (read the README.md in the locale subdirectory how wxMaxima and the manual can be translated).

Or answer questions of other users in the discussion forum.

The source code of wxMaxima is documented using Doxygen here.

The program is nearly self-contained, so except for system libraries (and the wxWidgets library), no external dependencies (like graphic files or the Lisp part (the `wxmathML.lisp`-file) is needed, these files are included in the executable.

If you are a developer, you might want to try out a modified `wxmathML.lisp`-file without recompiling everything, one can use the command line option `--wxmathml-lisp=<str>` to use another Lisp file, not the included one.