Wolfram|Alpha: computational knowledge web engine to be launched in May

Here I was, flipping over the sections of the Wolfram Research website (software company, developers of Mathematica software), documenting the launch of a web query engine supposed to revolutionize our way of accessing information on the web (thanks Mauricio for signalling this). Extensively hypertexting, I have come over the book A New Kind of Science by Stephen Wolfram, founder and CEO of Wolfram Research. The book is entirely available online or can be bought in high-quality illustrated paperback version. The first feeling I had of this book, confirmed after flipping over some pages online, is that it does for the field of software engineering what Stephen Hawking’s book, A Brief History of Time (or the newer version A Briefer History of Time) does for the field of physics and astronomy: an incursion into an exciting though ivory-tower-confined field, accessible also for layman minds whose little scientific background is compensated by lots of curiosity for the new. For who is interested in an inquisitive perspective on potential future advances in software engineering, this might be an interesting resource.

The newest research outcome of Wolfram is WolframAlpha, a computational knowledge engine. What can a computational knowledge engine do? In short, it should be a revolutionary Google that not only produces the most relevant query results, but intelligently computes answers to queries. It is, in Stephen Wolfram’s view, the next step forward to semantic web. Wolfram adds, this engine is built on the knowledge advances brought by two landmarks in the history of Wolfram Research: A New Kind of Science (the book), and Mathematica (the software). More about WolframAlpha in the blog post published this month by Stephen Wolfram

Launch scheduled for May. See website
(You can also ask to test the engine before it is launched)