I've been fighting with Mathematica's Manipulate function for the last few days for a project.
I'm working on tweaking assumptions and boundary conditions that go into a physical model. For this, I want to be able to plot different equations and adjust the parameters and have the graphs update on the fly. Manipulate seems to be the perfect tool for the job -- except that I can't get it to work. The plots won't update when the parameters are changed.
Basic example:
a =.;
b =.;
c =.;
func1[x_] := a*x;
func2[x_] := a*x^2 + b*x + c;
funcNamesList := {"Linear", "Quadratic"};
funcList := {func1[x], func2[x]}
Manipulate[
Plot[function, {x, -5, 5}], {function,MapThread[Function[#1 -> #2],
{funcList, funcNamesList}]}, {a, -5, 5}, {b, -5, 5}, {c, -5, 5},
LocalizeVariables -> False
]
I can get, for example, func1
to refresh by clicking func1
, adjusting a
, and then clickingfunc1
again, but I'm hoping to have it update when I adjust a
because the real functions I'm using are rather temperamental with respect to their parameters.
-Because I'll be dealing with long functions that have different parameters, using a list of functions is useful.
EDIT:
In case it produces any ideas for anyone, here are some working examples of the individual components of what I want to do (from the Wolfram documentation):
Plot graphs and have them update when parameters are changed:
Manipulate[
Plot[Sin[a x + b], {x, 0, 6}], {{a, 2, "Multiplier"}, 1, 4},
{{b, 0, "Phase Parameter"}, 0, 10}
]
Note: This breaks when the function is taken outside:
func[x] := Sin[a x + b];
Manipulate[
Plot[func[x], {x, 0, 6}], {{a, 2, "Multiplier"}, 1, 4},
{{b, 0, "Phase Parameter"}, 0, 10}, LocalizeVariables -> False
]
Example of changing the function being plotted:
Manipulate[
Plot[f[x], {x, 0, 2 Pi}], {f, {Sin -> "sine", Cos -> "cosine", Tan -> "tangent"}}
]
Edit 2
Changed func2 from a*x^2
to a*x^2 + b*x + c
to reflect the fact that the functions may have different parameters.
Edit 3 Added the tidbit I use to get nice names on the function buttons.