Maplesoft now has a new approach to providing customer support for Maple users! The Maple Customer Support Updates allows Maplesoft to provide important updates to our customers as fast as possible. These updates contain a series of improvements and fixes to any area of the Maple library, enabling a rapid response for customer reports and requests. When a Maple user reports a bug or weakness, or requests some missing functionality that can be addressed with an update to the Maple library, such an update can now be provided immediately after the fix or improvement is developed. Furthermore, the update will not just be available to that customer who reported it, but also to any other Maple users who wishes to use them. Of course, not all reports will be able to be addressed quickly, and for those that are, it will be up to the developer's discretion whether to make the fix or improvement available via these new Maple Customer Support Updates. Please note that these Updates may contain experimental elements that could change in subsequent official releases.

The updates are available as a workbook containing a Maple library file that can be downloaded and installed from the Maple Cloud. To install the Maple Customer Support Updates from the Maple Cloud,

• Click the MapleCloud icon in the upper-right corner of the Maple GUI window and select Packages.
• Find the Maple Customer Support Updates package and click the Install button, the last one under Actions.
• To check for new versions of Maple Customer Support Updates, click the MapleCloud icon and select Updates. If the cloud icon in the Actions column of Maple Customer Support Updates has the word Update beside it, then you can click on it to download a new update.

To make the process of installing and maintaining the Maple Customer Support Updates as smooth as possible, we've also introduced a new Maple library package, SupportTools, with 3 commands, Update, Version, and RemoveUpdates.

Download SupportTools.mw

In Maple 2025.0, the SupportTools package is not installed by default. For the first installation, you can also run the command
PackageTools:-Install(4797495082876928); instead of installing it from the Maple Cloud.

The Maple Customer Support Updates were inspired by and modelled after the existing Physics Updates which many Maple users may be famiilar with already. Going forward, Physics Updates will only contain changes to the Physics package itself. All other library updates will be available via the Maple Customer Support Updates. For compatibility with the pre-existing Physics:-Version command, calling SupportTools:-Version(n) is equivalent to calling SupportTools:-Update(n), and similarly SupportTools:-Version(latest) and SupportTools:-Update(latest) are both equivalent to the single call SupportTools:-Update().

The Maplesoft Physics Updates, introduced over a decade ago, brought with them an innovative concept: to deliver fixes and new developments continuously, as soon as they enter the development version of the Maple library for the next release. A key aspect of this initiative was prioritizing the resolution of issues reported on MaplePrimes, ensuring that fixes became available to everyone within 24 to 48 hours. Initially focused solely on the Physics package, the scope of the updates quickly expanded to include other parts of the Maple library and the Typesetting system.

This initiative, which I developed outside regular work hours, aimed to enhance the Maple experience—where issues encountered in daily use could be resolved almost immediately, minimizing disruptions and benefiting the entire user community through shared updates.

As of January 1st, I have stepped away from my role at Maplesoft and have been increasingly involved in activities unrelated to Maple. This raises the question of what will happen with the Physics Updates for Maple 2025 and after.

The Physics project remains a unique and personally meaningful endeavor for me. So, for now, I will continue to dedicate some time to these Updates—but only for the Physics package, not for other parts of the library. As before, these fixes and developments will be included in the Physics Updates only after they have been integrated into the development version of Maple’s official library for the next release. In that sense, they will continue to be Maplesoft updates.

On that note, the first release of the Physics Updates for Maple 2025—focused solely on the Physics package—went out today as version 1854. To install it, the first time open Maple 2025 and use the Maplecloud toolbar -> Packages, or else input PackageTools:-Install(5137472255164416). Any next time, just enter Physics:-Version(latest)

As for fixes beyond the Physics package, I understand that Maplesoft is exploring the possibility of offering something similar to what was previously delivered through the Maplesoft Physics Updates.

All the best

PS: to install the last version of the Maplesoft Physics Updates for Maple 2024, open Maple and input Physics:-Version(1852), not 1853.
 
Edgardo S. Cheb-Terrab
Physics, Differential Equations, and Mathematical Functions
Maplesoft Emmeritus
Research and Education—passionate about all that.