<chapter id="introduction"> <title>Introduction</title> <para>&kmplot; is a mathematical function plotter for the &kde; Desktop. It has a powerful built-in parser. You can plot different functions simultaneously and combine them to build new functions.</para> <screenshot> <screeninfo>Examples</screeninfo> <mediaobject> <imageobject> <imagedata fileref="threeplots.png" format="PNG"/> </imageobject> <textobject> <phrase>Examples</phrase> </textobject> </mediaobject> </screenshot> <para>&kmplot; supports several different types of plots:</para> <itemizedlist> <listitem><para>Explicit cartesian plots of the form y = f(x).</para></listitem> <listitem><para>Parametric plots, where the x and y components are specified as functions of an independent variable.</para></listitem> <listitem><para>Polar plots of the form r = r(&thgr;).</para></listitem> <listitem><para>Implicit plots, where the x and y coordinates are related by an expression.</para></listitem> <listitem><para>Explicit differential plots.</para></listitem> </itemizedlist> <para>&kmplot; also provides some numerical and visual features like:</para> <itemizedlist> <listitem><para>Filling and calculating the area between the plot and the first axis</para> </listitem> <listitem><para>Finding maximum and minimum values</para> </listitem> <listitem><para>Changing function parameters dynamically</para> </listitem> <listitem><para>Plotting derivatives and integral functions.</para> </listitem> </itemizedlist> <para>These features help in learning the relationship between mathematical functions and their graphical representation in a coordinate system.</para> </chapter> <!-- Local Variables: mode: sgml sgml-minimize-attributes:nil sgml-general-insert-case:lower sgml-indent-step:0 sgml-indent-data:nil sgml-parent-document:("index.docbook" "BOOK" "CHAPTER") End: -->