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WolframAlpha (/ˈwʊlf.rəm-/ WUULf-rəm-) is an answer engine developed by Wolfram Research.[3] It is offered as an online service that answers factual queries by computing answers from externally sourced data.[4][5]
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 | |
Type of site | Answer engine |
|---|---|
| Owner | WolframAlpha LLC |
| Created by | Wolfram Research |
| URL | www |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Optional |
| Launched | May 18, 2009[1] (official launch) May 15, 2009[2] (public launch) |
| Current status | Active |
| Written in | Wolfram Language |
WolframAlpha was released on May 18, 2009, and is based on Wolfram's earlier product Wolfram Mathematica, a technical computing platform.[1] WolframAlpha gathers data from academic and commercial websites such as the CIA's The World Factbook, the United States Geological Survey, a Cornell University Library publication called All About Birds, Chambers Biographical Dictionary, Dow Jones, the Catalogue of Life,[3] CrunchBase,[6] Best Buy,[7] and the FAA to answer queries.[8] A Spanish language version was launched in 2022.[9]
Overview
Users submit queries and computation requests via a text field. WolframAlpha then computes answers and relevant visualizations from a knowledge base of curated, structured data that come from other sites and books. It can respond to particularly phrased natural language fact-based questions. It displays its "Input interpretation" of such a question, using standardized phrases. It can also parse mathematical symbolism and respond with numerical and statistical results.[citation needed]
Development
WolframAlpha is written in the Wolfram Language, a general[clarification needed] multi-paradigm programming language, and implemented in Mathematica. Wolfram language is proprietary and is not commonly used by developers.[10]
WolframAlpha was used to power some searches in the Microsoft Bing and DuckDuckGo search engines but is no longer used to provide search results.[11][12] For factual question answering, WolframAlpha was used by Apple's Siri in October 2011 and Amazon Alexa in December 2018 for math and science queries.[13][14] Users would notice that the Wolfram Integration for Siri was changed in June 2013 to use Bing to query certain results on IOS 7.[15] Starting IOS 17, several users would report that Wolfram for Siri would no longer answer mathematical equations, instead fully defaulting on web search queries with no notable explanation.[16][17] WolframAlpha data types[clarification needed], sets of curated information and formulas that assist in creating, categorization, and filling of spreadsheet information, became available in July 2020 within Microsoft Excel.[18] The Microsoft-Wolfram partnership ended nearly two years later, in 2022, in favor of Microsoft Power Query data types.[19] WolframAlpha functionality in Microsoft Excel ended in June 2023.[20][21]
Launch preparations for WolframAlpha began on May 15, 2009, at 7 p.m. CDT and were broadcast live on Justin.tv. The plan was to publicly launch the service a few hours later. However, there were issues due to extreme load. The service officially launched on May 18, 2009,[22] receiving mixed reviews.[23][24] In 2009, WolframAlpha advocates pointed to its potential[vague], some stating that how it determines results is more important than current usefulness.[23] WolframAlpha was free at launch, but later Wolfram Research attempted to monetize the service by launching an iOS application with a cost of $50, while the website itself was free.[25] That plan was abandoned after criticism.[25]
On February 8, 2012, WolframAlpha Pro was released,[26] offering users additional features for a monthly subscription fee.[26][27]
Some high-school and college students use WolframAlpha to cheat on math homework, though Wolfram Research says the service helps students understand math with its problem-solving capabilities.[28]
InfoWorld published an article warning readers of the potential implications of giving an automated website proprietary rights to the data it generates.[29] Free software advocate Richard Stallman also opposes recognizing the site as a copyright holder and suspects that Wolfram Research would not be able to make this case under existing copyright law.[30]
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