Assignments and equations

As the title says, ${\logo META}$ ${\logo FONT}$ can solve equations. Thus you can write (3a is a shorthand for 3*a)

3a + b = 5;
2a - 3b = 7;

After reading these equations the values of a and b are fully defined.

In the previous section we used := which denotes assignment. If you now say

a := 13;

it will instruct ${\logo META}$ ${\logo FONT}$ to forget whatever value a might have had and assign 13 ti it. In the previous case, when reading the equation 2a - 3b = 7, ${\logo META}$ ${\logo FONT}$ already knows that a = (- b + 5)/3 and these together enable the evaluation of a and b. This is the difference between assignments and equations.