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From: Syd Geraghty on 22 Apr 2010 03:30
Hi all,

Last year a thread started on MathGroup concerning the use of "Download as Live Mathematica" from Wolfram|Alpha generated output.

Has anyone found a way or ways to use this "Live Mathematica" output for examples and hints for generating custom versions of the Wolfram|Alpha output?

I have tried unsuccessfully to search W|A and WRI sites for information on this.


Cheers .... Syd

Syd Geraghty B.Sc, M.Sc.

sydgeraghty(a)mac.com

Mathematica 7.0.1.0 for Mac OS X x86 (64 - bit) (12th September 2009)
MacOS X V 10.6.1 Snow Leopard
MacBook Pro 2.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 2GB RAM


To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
Subject: Re: Wolfram|Alpha Lookup Tool for Mathematica
From: "Ingolf Dahl" <f9aid at chalmers.se>
Date: Thu, 21 May 2009 00:05:40 -0400 (EDT)
Organization: University of Gothenburg
References: <200905160920.FAA26822(a)smc.vnet.net> <200905162224.SAA16389(a)smc.vnet.net> <200905200859.EAA10372(a)smc.vnet.net>
Reply-to: <ingolf.dahl at physics.gu.se>

Have you noted the little link "Download as Live Mathematica" in the
Wolfram Alpha response? I have managed to get that working, and when
downloaded into Mathematica, a notebook will open and 3D graphics will be
live. But I do not know how to bypass the HTML page and get the download of the
notebook directly into Mathematica from a Mathematica call, which of course
would be ideal for the Mathematica user.
Best regards

Ingolf Dahl


From: Fred Klingener on 23 Apr 2010 03:51
On Apr 22, 3:30 am, Syd Geraghty <sydgerag...(a)mac.com> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> Last year a thread started on MathGroup concerning the use of "Download a=
s Live Mathematica" from Wolfram|Alpha generated output.

For almost a year, I've been trying to figure out ways to extract
results from Wolfram|Alpha output for subsequent use in Mathematica in
any way other than incorporation of pod graphics, but I've concluded
that obstruction of that activity is one of W|A's principal design
goals.

Even (illegal, according to a strict constructionist view of the Terms
of Use) very slick things that worked with Import[ ] a year ago seem
to have now been blocked.

I have trouble imagining the technical or business cases that steer in
the present direction, and I just can't believe that this development
approach will survive, but while the maturation proceeds, looking
things up in books and keying them into programs is still best by far.

KTDH (Knowing This Doesn't Help),
Fred Klingener

From: Mark McClure on 24 Apr 2010 04:01
On Fri, Apr 23, 2010 at 3:51 AM, Fred Klingener
<gigabitbucket(a)brockeng.com> wrote:
> On Apr 22, 3:30 am, Syd Geraghty <sydgerag...(a)mac.com> wrote:
>
>> Last year a thread started on MathGroup concerning the use of "Download a=
> s Live Mathematica" from Wolfram|Alpha generated output.
>
> For almost a year, I've been trying to figure out ways to extract
> results from Wolfram|Alpha output for subsequent use in Mathematica in
> any way other than incorporation of pod graphics,

I have had some success with this. Suppose, for example, that your
input corresponds naturally to a very simple command, such as
"integrate sin(x) dx" <--> Integrate[Sin[x],x]
In this case, you can click on the output to obtain the Mathematica
input that generated the result. I suppose this is nice for folks who
are trying to learn Mathematica. I've used it to translate a
complicated expression from other systems into Mathematica input.

Also, you can obtain the InputForm of graphics from the downloaded
"Live Mathematica" notebooks, which is kind of nice.

> I've concluded that obstruction of that activity is one of W|A's principal
> design goals.
>
> Even (illegal, according to a strict constructionist view of the Terms
> of Use) very slick things that worked with Import[ ] a year ago seem
> to have now been blocked.

Well, that is a bummer about the Import block. I hadn't noticed that
before. I agree that this is very unfortunate. I guess they recently
hired a new director who is expected to increase the visibility of
WolframAlpha. I guess he was responsible for the improved access on
mobile platforms already. Hopefully, they will open up the API as
well. If the API were open to the extent that, say, the Google Maps
API is, then WolframAlpha could become a powerful tool. Otherwise,
I'm afraid it's applications (outside of the one's directly programmed
in by the company), are likely to remain toy-like.

Mark McClure


I find WolframAlpha to be a great tool in the classroom but

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