The Howdy Glossary

Mathcad is a software tool engineered for facilitating engineering calculations, featuring capabilities such as analyzing, solving, documenting, and sharing mathematical equations and expressions. Its unique interface replicates standard written mathematics, allowing users to perform operations directly on-screen in a "What You See Is What You Get" format. Mathcad supports both symbolic algebraic calculations and numeric operations, offering engineers an interactive platform to document their design intent accurately.

Developed by Mathsoft Engineering & Education Inc., which later became Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC), Mathcad was first released in 1986. Over time, it has evolved into a widely adopted tool within the engineering and scientific communities for performing mathematical analysis and problem-solving tasks. Mathcad aims to streamline the process of documentation by ensuring all numerical values are tied to their measurement units throughout the application, thus preventing calculation errors.

Some main competitors of Mathcad include MATLAB, Maple, and Wolfram Mathematica—each providing similar functionalities tailored towards technical computing needs. Despite this competition, Mathcad stands out due to its user-friendly interface that allows direct on-screen math operations resembling written equations. Its comprehensive support for both symbolic algebraic calculations and numeric operations combined with full units support ensures precision in engineering documentation. These features make it particularly valuable across various industries such as aerospace, automotive, civil engineering, and physics where accurate mathematical analysis is crucial.