Mathematica provides hundreds of built-in functions and constants. No good purpose
would be served by cataloging them here---it is better to learn about them as
the need to use them arises. You are probably wondering, though, how to at
least figure out what's available.
One source of information is printed documentation, such as The Mathematica Book,
but it is not comprehensive. Whether you are learning about Mathematica, Fortran,
Unix, or any other software system, printed documentation tends to have a
number of limitations:
(1) It is almost always out-of-date. Software changes almost continuously, so
printed documentation rapidly becomes dated.
(2) It is almost never there when you need it. It is not likely that you'll
have your copy of the documentation with you every time you sit down at a
workstation.
(3) It is usually fairly expensive.
The best way to learn about a system such as Mathematica, once you know the basics,
is via online documentation. Most systems---Mathematica and Unix are good
examples---provide extensive online documentation. This material is generally
up-to-date, it is by definition available whenever you are using the software,
and it is free. You should learn to use it.
For example, if you type a question mark to Mathematica it will respond by showing
you a list of available information.
?F*
Mathematica will display its answer to each help request in a separate window.
You'll need to position and place it with the mouse.
One of the topics is Factorial, so let's try that out.
?Factorial
What you get is adescription of Mathematica's Factorial function. Perhaps the FactorInteger function intrigues you. We can learn more about it with
?FactorInteger
The information that is printed out may not make complete sense to you because
you are not yet a Mathematica expert. But you should at least be able to figure out
that FactorInteger can be used to factor integers. Once you know this much,
it's a good idea to try it out yourself. When it comes right down to it, the
best way to learn about just about anything having to do with a computer is to
experiment. For example
FactorInteger[ 1000 ]
shows us the prime factorization of 1000. Perhaps you've always wondered what
the factorization of 100!\ is:
FactorInteger[ 100! ]
One useful Mathematica built-in feature is the % symbol. See if you
can figure out what it does by using the Mathematica help facility and by
experimenting.