Maple tries to give exact answers. If you ever want a numeric answer, you can apply the command evalf to a calculation. Maple distinguishes between expressions and functions. Functions are defined using a different syntax than expressions. The two are entirely different strings of text.
Many Maple commands operate only on expressions, or only on functions.
Other commands have syntax which depend on whether the command is operating on an expression or on a function. For more information about functions than is here, you can look at the Functions page. Help If you need help in remembering the syntax of a command, or want to know if Maple has a command to do something that you want done, you can use the Help browser, which is the first item found under either the Windows menu or the Help menu. Beside this menu item, there will be a description of keystrokes that will also pop up the Help browser. The Help browser works with a tree structure, allowing you to select progressively more specific categories of topics, by clicking on them, until you have narrowed the search down to what you are looking for.