Categories: Web

Wolfram Alpha comes alive with new Computable Document Format

Computational knowledge search engine Wolfram Alpha has announced that their recently introduced Computable Document Format (CDF) has been integrated with their web-based service. The new format allows results to be interactively manipulated by various parameter controls right within the browser.

Users can enjoy “live” search engine output by installing the free CDF plugin on the Wolfram Alpha website, or if they already have Mathematica 8 installed. Now results generated are not just static but can be altered on-the-fly, giving new meaning to most data. Stephen Wolfram, founder of Wolfram Alpha, comments,

“Sometimes being able to change parameters dynamically just enriches what is already rather complete output. But often, it’s what really makes the output meaningful.”

Some examples of CDF’s usage on Wolfram Alpha include live altering differential equations using sliders to control values, controlling the radius of an edge detect image of Abraham Lincoln and exploring the earth’s visible satellites from various longitudes and zoom levels.

Interactive view of all visible satellites using CDF

Interactivity is only available with particular kinds of computational data today, but “broader coverage” will arrive in the future.

Albizu Garcia

Albizu Garcia is the Co-Founder and CEO of Gain -- a marketing technology company that automates the social media and content publishing workflow for agencies and social media managers, their clients and anyone working in teams.

Recent Posts

Canada’s Skills Economy: How HR Teams Can Outlearn Change

As AI becomes increasingly central to business, HR leaders in Canada are considering again how…

4 hours ago

DeepL’s translation platform expands Spain’s language coverage to Catalan, Basque, Galician, and Aragonese

The number of languages spoken across the world is immense, with some seven thousand different…

18 hours ago

DARPA ‘Protean’ program aims to provide preventative protection against chemical threats

DARPA is putting together the Protean research program that would provide preventative protection against chemical…

20 hours ago

Tony Blair Institute calls for nationwide facial recognition, national police force & digital forensics agency

With sophisticated precrime tools at its disposal, the proposed national police force & digital forensics…

5 days ago

The Sociable’s 26 Marketing Leaders to Watch in 2026

Unlike large, traditional companies that have been in the market for decades or centuries, many…

5 days ago

The smart kitchen revolution: Why automation may be the next big health breakthrough

In an age of rising diet-related chronic diseases, how we eat matters just as much…

7 days ago