Terminology
Some authors distinguish computer algebra from symbolic computation using the latter name to refer to kinds of symbolic computation other than the computation with mathematical formulas. Some authors use symbolic computation for the computer science aspect of the subject and "computer algebra" for the mathematical aspect. In some languages the name of the field is not a direct translation of its English name. Typically, it is called calcul formel in French, which means "formal computation".
Symbolic computation has also been referred to, in the past, as symbolic manipulation, algebraic manipulation, symbolic processing, symbolic mathematics, or symbolic algebra, but these terms, which also refer to non-computational manipulation, are no more in use for referring to computer algebra.
Read more about this topic: Symbolic Computation