i generate taylor series following these instructions : f(x) := ''(ratdisrep(taylor(qexct('x),'x,0,5))); qexct function not defined : want perform computation qexct smooth function. knowing this, how set variable x value (e.g. 1) ? if : f(1); then maxima returns me following error : diff: variable must not number; found: 1 and if : f(d); then considers d variable , substitutes occurrences of variable x variable d . in particular, differentiates using d/dd instead of d/dx. however, substitute variable x number 1 in x^n terms , keep derivatives are… how do ? the variable in diff expression not recognized everywhere in maxim dummy (formal) variable, when try evaluate f(1) , maxima substitutes 1 diff expression , causes error. think that's bug; i'll make bug report it. as work around, can use add-on package pdiff (positional derivatives) included maxima. notation little different dy/dx notation used default in maxima. ...