Will PTC ever port Mathcad to Max OS X?

[RickCAZ]

Ever plan to release a Mac variant of Mathcad? A while ago I converted to Mac OS X, due to a very unpleasant Vista experience, after using exclusively Windows since the days of CPM. I plan to never return to Windows. I am forced to run XP (or eventually 7) in an emulator just for Mathcad access. But that still gives me the Windows foibles to contend with. A Mac variant would be handy.

[RogerMansfield]

PTC's product line has historically worked on Windows, UNIX, and Linux-based platforms.See http://www.ptc.com/partners/hardware/current/support.htm for the latest information about platform support.

Mathsoft stopped supporting the Mac after Mathcad PLUS 6.0 for Power Macintosh, as introduced in 1996 and superseded in 1997 by Mathcad 7 Professional (for Windows 95 only). I believe that the reason was, Mathsoft simply could not afford to maintain two (Win and Mac) product development teams.

My personal opinion is that PTC will not develop a Mac version of Mathcad Prime because of the high cost of hiring, managing, and maintaining a Mathcad-for-Mac application development team in addition to the Windows application development team.

And since it is clearly a PTC goal to keep Mathcad integrated with the rest of PTC's product line, there would have to be Mac OS X versions of every other PTC product, too. IMHO, that is not likely to ever happen.

I'd love for PTC to tell us I'm wrong. But I won't think less of them if they don't.

[RichardJ]

And since it is clearly a PTC goal to keep Mathcad integrated with the rest of PTC's product line, there would have to be Mac OS X versions of every other PTC product, too.

In addition to that, every version of Mathcad since 12, including Prime, is based on the dotnet framework, from MS. Prime uses the Fluent interface, from MS. So moving Mathcad to the Mac would not be so much a port, but more a complete rewrite.

[PhilipOakley]

I think it probably will come for Prime in some way.

I listed to a UK webinar on the Prime developments yesterday, and it included the road map for Prime 2 & 3 and its integration with Pro/e CREO.

Assuming that they have a method for managing the core codebase that is OS agnostic, then it should be easy for a Mac [OSX] version to be created when all those other foibles are sorted.

See the CREO integration at bottom right of the roadmap. But do remember it is just a plan........ and plans never survive contact with the enemy customers 😉

[RichardJ]

Assuming that they have a method for managing the core codebase that is OS agnostic,

The core codebase is based on the dotnet framework. Also, a lot of the work in writing Mathcad must be the interface itself, which is also based on the dotnet framework, and in Prime the Fluent interface.

[Mischa]

I have converted to Max OS X since December 2010 and I have been looking for information about similar programs for Mac. I haven't found anything like Mathcad that works an a Mac yet. There is Maple and Mathmatica, but these programs differ from Mathcad in an essential way, especially when it comes to units and using symbols. If so, I would have made the change right away. Now I am like you still using Windows for some apps that are not available for Mac. Though I have no idea if it will ever come, I am still hoping Mathcad Prime eventually will be ported to Mac. Programming languages are developing fast and porting to different platforms should be easier in the near future, if not today. Marketing is one of the barriers and I think support to. Multiple platforms require more support effort.

For now I have to deal with Windows, but I hope there will be a future without the need of Windows on a Mac.

[PhilipOakley]

On Mathematica (Jon McLoone) has done a free Units & Dimensions package (implied dimensions via the incompatibility of base units)

http://library.wolfram.com/infocenter/MathSource/7655/

And there is a blog item about it at http://blog.wolfram.com/2010/12/09/automatic-physical-units-in-mathematica/

See if it is any good.

Philip

[Mischa]

Mathmatica and Maple may be much more sophisticated when it comes to programming, (differential) analysis and complex problem solving. But the way I use Mathcad (as an Engineer) is not that easy with Mathmatica and Maple. I am always willing to change my way I work, but there are to many downsides with the units an presentation of results (document). When I use Mathcad, I can start a worksheet which ends as a document for third parties. I don't have to plan what I am trying to accomplish. I just start typing text and formulas like I am using a word processor. That is what I like very very much about Mathcad. It has downsides to, but for me it is an ideal companion. So Mathcad for OS X would be the far best solution for me. The second best is using Windows on my Mac with Mathcad installed. As long as that works reasonably well and Maple or Mathmatica stays the same I probably will not switch to Maple or Mathmatica. But to be honest, if the use of Maple or Mathmatica would be closer to Mathcad, I would have switched three months ago.