New Features in webMathematica 2

The new version of webMathematica brings you new web capabilities, simplified installation, easier integration into standard server applications, and further enhancements to the web's leading enterprise calculation engine.

Support for Mathematica 5.1
webMathematica comes with Mathematica 5.1. Mathematica 5.1 contains many important new features relevant to development and web operations. These include support for new 64-bit platforms, optimized binary I/O, graph and array plotting, and industrial-strength string manipulation, matching, and searching capabilities, as well as import and export filters for additional graphic, web, and matrix file formats.

Database Connectivity
DatabaseLink provides Mathematica with a powerful, ready-made solution for integrating Mathematica with any standard SQL database. Integrated with Mathematica 5.1, it provides a convenient bridge between SQL databases and webMathematica. One particularly useful feature for webMathematica is that DatabaseLink contains the HSQL Database Engine (HSQLDB), a lightweight database. This means that users who do not already have a database or want to experiment with using one do not have to set one up; instead, they can use HSQLDB.

Client Web Services
The Web Services Package allows Mathematica to call web services across the internet. Bundled with Mathematica 5.1, it provides a convenient way for webMathematica to use a web service. This is an important way to extend the functionality of a webMathematica website.

Authoring System Preview
webMathematica Author is an authoring system shipped with webMathematica that aids in the creation and development of webMathematica material.

Simple Installation
webMathematica has a simple installation process that requires minimal configuration beyond the installation of the webMathematica web application.

Extended Documentation and Examples
The documentation for webMathematica is now shipped in HTML format and is accessible from the webMathematica front page. Many examples have been added to demonstrate new features.

New Templating Mechanism Based on JSP Custom Tags
HTML templating can now be done with JSP (JavaServer Pages) custom tags. This mechanism is easy to understand, allows the use of other JSP custom tag libraries, and facilitates the integration of webMathematica into other server applications.

MathML, SVG, and XML Support
Support for MathML and SVG is built into webMathematica, allowing you to describe equations and graphics in standard XML formats that can be read by browsers.

Support for Catching Message and Print Output
New functions are provided for catching the output of any Mathematica Message or Print statements. This feature can be useful for debugging or developing material.

Support for HTTP File Upload
New functions are provided to support HTTP file upload, allowing users to submit data to a webMathematica web server.

Support for HTTP Session Variables
New functions are provided for saving material in an HTTP session stored in the server. This feature can be useful for saving results from one computation to another.

HTML Formatting Functions
New functions are provided for formatting results such as tables into HTML.