should [mathematica] usage/programming questions be on-topic on SU?

Question

My main concerns are as follows:

a) we have a dedicated http://mathematica.stackexchange.com stack for them - if they are asked here, they are unlikely to get much attention, they are hard to find and they can't get domain-specific tags,

b)

If your question is not specifically on-topic for Super User, it may be on topic for another Stack Exchange site.

While I get the basic idea that Mathematica is a piece of software, it's also a programming language by itself, a development framework, an IDE etc. - also, I can see no obvious way in which Mathematica is a "super user" tool; for me, it's clearly a developer tool.

c)

and it is not about …

programming and software development,

(side note) is there any place better than https://superuser.com/help/on-topic (meta topic maybe?) in describing what's on-topic and off-topic on SU?

Examples from https://superuser.com/questions/tagged/mathematica?sort=newest&pagesize=50 of what I (my own personal opinion) consider on-topic and off-topic on SU:

on-topic (all of them are concerning very broad scope - configuration, general usage etc):

No sound in Mathematica under Linux

How do you cycle through windows in Mathematica 7?

Wolfram Mathematica 9 can't start

off-topic (all 3 are IMO programming questions - because they are answered with code):

Differential equations with Mathematica

ExampleData[] and Options[] in Mathematica

Draw 3D bar plot in Mathematica

_{Of course I consider questions about installing/configuration/platform dependence etc. on-topic here - I just don't think that actual programming usage of a software development platform is. Also, I'm aware that M.SE went RTM ca. 2012 and 2 of the "off-topic" questions are earlier than that date (and that that limits the migration possibilities for old questions also) - yet I'm trying to figure current guidelines; those questions are shown as examples only.}

Answer 1

Only one of the examples you have given are off-topic for our site in my opinion.

off-topic (all 3 are IMO programming questions - because they are answered with code):

Differential equations with Mathematica.

ExampleData[] and Options[] in Mathematica (this one)

Draw 3D bar plot in Mathematica

The other two are no different at all from the current questions that we get with Microsoft Excel and VBA. They are all trivial for anyone with even vague knowledge of the package to answer. While we might migrate the "heavier" of VBA questions we do not migrate many because it is quite common to need to know a little bit of coding to do some of the more in depth things in Excel. Even the third is borderline though, as it's almost akin to asking how to use a particular function in excel.

Should we migrate every question that can be answered with any type of code? No, because that would preclude a massive section of our audience.

None of those questions are specifically programming and software development, they are "how do I enter this in that" or "does this actually work", the fact that they might need some light knowledge of the workings of the program is not unexpected.

This is one time when the broadness and specificality of Superuser can be somewhat confusing. We don't allow programming questions, per se, but we do allow people to dip into it if necessary. That those questions might have needed it does not mean that it was originally thought by the author that they mandated it.

I would have to say that the help centre is quite clear on the matter. If it is about actually programming and software development (i.e. the heavy stuff) then it is off-topic, if it is simply about using computer hardware or software in the way it is intended then it is fine here.