The “Gray Box” Approach
The proverbial "black box" refers to computing tools where the user is shielded from the inner algorithms and interacts with the system from a purely and input and output point of view. Most modern engineering modeling and simulation software are based on this notion. The "gray box" is a term that describes the symbolic approach to engineering computation that offers distinct benefits in education and research. This paper offers an introduction to the tools and techniques of successfully deploying symbolic tools. The Maple system will be used as the software context.
