Mathcad software for technical computing has been rebuilt from the ground-up and is now called Mathcad Prime 1.0. According to the developer, the overhaul was necessary to meet the expectations of a new generation of users with higher standards for ease of use. Also, to bolster the UI technology, the software architecture implements Microsoft .NET 3.5. In addition, Prime was designed to work better with other software packages comprising PTC’s Product Development System (PDS).
The rebuild was a huge undertaking, so the developer began with the most difficult part of Mathcad — the equation editor. Thus, Mathcad Prime 1.0 started as a small research project that gradually expanded, guided by lots of user feedback. The developers made the decision to release the software in increments rather than try to make changes after everything was “baked in.”
To help users upgrade from previous versions, a worksheet conversion tool lets users convert any worksheet since version 7. Other users might choose to upgrade later or run their earlier version and Mathcad Prime 1.0 in tandem. The intent is that by version 3.0, most users should be able to move smoothly to Mathcad Prime. In the meantime, users can still get full support of Mathcad 15 with regular maintenance releases. For more information
