Mathematica Q&A: Three Functions for Computing Derivatives
Got questions about Mathematica? The Wolfram Blog has answers! We'll regularly answer selected questions from users around the web. You can submit your question directly to the Q&A Team using this form.
This week's question comes from Bashir, a student:
What are the different functions for computing derivatives in Mathematica?
The main function for computing derivatives in Mathematica is D, which computes the familiar partial derivative of an expression with respect to a variable:
D supports generalizations including multiple derivatives and derivatives with respect to multiple variables, such as differentiating twice with respect to x, then once with respect to y:
And vector and tensor derivatives, such as the gradient: