Introduction to Scientific Computation and Programming

by Kaplan, Daniel

• ISBN13: 9780534389130
• ISBN10: 0534389139
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-11-27
• Publisher: CL Engineering
• More Book Details
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Summary

This book provides students with the modern skills and concepts needed to be able to use the computer expressively in scientific work. The author takes an integrated approach by covering programming, important methods and techniques of scientific computation (graphics, the organization of data, data acquisition, numerical methods, etc.) and the organization of software. Balancing the best of the teach-a-package and teach-a-language approaches, the book teaches general-purpose language skills and concepts, and also takes advantage of existing package-like software so that realistic computations can be performed.

Table of Contents

1 What Is a Computation?	1	(14)
1.1 Computation as Transformation	1	(3)
1.2 Computation as Reaction to Events	4	(2)
1.3 Algorithms	6	(6)
1.4 From Algorithms to Software	12	(1)
1.5 Exercises	13	(2)
2 Invoking a Computation	15	(20)
2.1 Expressions and Commands	16	(3)
2.2 Changing State: Assignment	19	(7)
2.3 A Variety of Notations	26	(1)
2.4 Parsing	27	(3)
2.5 Exercises	30	(5)
3 Simple Types: Numbers, Text, Booleans	35	(30)
3.1 The Organization of Computer Memory	36	(3)
3.2 Text	39	(7)
3.3 Collections of Numbers and Plotting	46	(7)
3.4 Booleans: True or False	53	(4)
3.5 Logical Operators	57	(2)
3.6 Exercises	59	(6)
4 Collections and Indexing	65	(22)
4.1 Indexing	65	(9)
4.2 Matrices	74	(5)
4.3 Mixed Data Types	79	(5)
4.4 Exercises	84	(3)
5 Files and Scripts	87	(26)
5.1 Filenames	88	(6)
5.2 File Operators	94	(2)
5.3 Importing and Exporting Data	96	(6)
5.4 Scripts	102	(4)
5.5 Scripts as Computations	106	(2)
5.6 Exercises	108	(2)
5.7 Project: Time for a Cool Cup of Coffee	110	(3)
6 Functions	113	(20)
6.1 Computations without Effects	113	(3)
6.2 Creating Functions	116	(6)
6.3 Functions as Arguments	122	(2)
6.4 Wrapper Functions	124	(2)
6.5 Returning Functions as Values	126	(1)
6.6 Exercises	127	(6)
7 Conditionals	133	(16)
7.1 The if Statement	134	(2)
7.2 More Than Two Cases	136	(1)
7.3 Completeness and Exclusivity	137	(4)
7.4 Switch/Case	141	(3)
7.5 Exercises	144	(2)
7.6 Project: The Morse Code	146	(3)
8 Loops	149	(46)
8.1 For Loops	151	(2)
8.2 Accumulators	153	(1)
8.3 Nested Loops	154	(2)
8.4 Example: Optimal Matching with Nested Loops	156	(3)
8.5 Element-by-Element Operators	159	(3)
8.6 Outputs of Unknown Size	162	(1)
8.7 Loop Termination	163	(1)
8.8 Conditional Looping	164	(2)
8.9 Example: Measuring Information	166	(6)
8.10 Dimensions and Arrays	172	(4)
8.11 Exercises	176	(8)
8.12 Project: Cellular Automata	184	(4)
8.13 Project: The Mandelbrot Set	188	(7)
9 Scope	195	(36)
9.1 Environments and Scope	196	(1)
9.2 The Debugger	197	(6)
9.3 Shared Environments	203	(3)
9.4 Scoping of Functions	206	(4)
9.5 Pass by Reference	210	(1)
9.6 Warnings and Errors	211	(5)
9.7 Testing Functions	216	(3)
9.8 Optional and Default Arguments	219	(3)
9.9 Exercises	222	(3)
9.10 Project: Precision Graphics and the Electrocardiogram	225	(6)
10 Events	231	(20)
10.1 Activating Input Devices	232	(6)
10.2 Example: Recording the Times of Events	238	(3)
10.3 Example: Exploring the Mandelbrot Set	241	(2)
10.4 Inputs without Waiting	243	(4)
10.5 Exercises	247	(4)
11 Arranging Data: Searching and Databases	251	(44)
11.1 Datasets	253	(2)
11.2 Selecting Subsets from Tables	255	(2)
11.3 Combining Tables: Union and Intersection	257	(1)
11.4 Databases	258	(11)
11.5 Efficient Searching for Matches	269	(8)
11.6 Simultaneous Collection and Access of Data	277	(4)
11.7 Exercises	281	(3)
11.8 Project: A Bridge Database	284	(7)
11.9 Project: Random Generation of Text	291	(4)
12 Trees and Recursion	295	(30)
12.1 Simple Recursion	296	(5)
12.2 Multiway Recursion	301	(2)
12.3 Accumulators	303	(2)
12.4 Example: Optimal Matching (Recursive)	305	(4)
12.5 Trees as Data Structures	309	(3)
12.6 Processing Trees	312	(1)
12.7 Example: Huffman Encoding of Information	313	(4)
12.8 Exercises	317	(3)
12.9 Project: Clustering of Data	320	(5)
13 Sounds and Signals	325	(30)
13.1 Basics of Computer Sound	326	(2)
13.2 Perception and Generation of Sound	328	(3)
13.3 Synthesizing Complex Sounds	331	(2)
13.4 Transducing and Recording Sound	333	(6)
13.5 Aliasing and the Sampling Frequency	339	(8)
13.6 Exercises	347	(3)
13.7 Project: The Perception of Beats	350	(2)
13.8 Project: Changing the Speed of Sound	352	(3)
14 Images	355	(22)
14.1 Black-and-White Images	355	(3)
14.2 Color	358	(2)
14.3 Digital Sampling of Images	360	(2)
14.4 Sampling and Storing Images in Files	362	(3)
14.5 Manipulating and Synthesizing Images	365	(3)
14.6 Example: The Mona Lisa's Missing Blue	368	(3)
14.7 Exercises	371	(1)
14.8 Project: Landsat Images and False Color	372	(5)
15. Numbers and Precision	377	(20)
15.1 Types of Numbers	378	(7)
15.2 The Capacity of Floating Point Numbers	385	(2)
15.3 Numerical Error	387	(4)
15.4 Example: Global Positioning	391	(3)
15.5 Exercises	394	(3)
16 Mathematical Relationships with One Unknown	397	(46)
16.1 Representing Mathematical Relationships	399	(3)
16.2 Zeroing in on Solutions	402	(6)
16.3 Derivatives	408	(4)
16.4 Going to the Extremes: Optimization	412	(11)
16.5 Fitting	423	(5)
16.6 Interpolation	428	(8)
16.7 Exercises	436	(7)
17 Mathematical Relationships with Two or More Unknowns	443	(60)
17.1 Visualizing Functions of Two Variables	446	(7)
17.2 Notation for Functions of > or equal to 2 Variables	453	(2)
17.3 Geometry of Functions: The Gradient	455	(4)
17.4 Optimization Using the Gradient	459	(7)
17.5 Finding Solutions	466	(1)
17.6 Solutions to Systems of Linear Equations	467	(5)
17.7 A Geometric Interpretation of A . x = b	472	(3)
17.8 Least Squares Solutions	475	(8)
17.9 Solutions to Systems of Nonlinear Equations	483	(8)
17.10 Exercises	491	(5)
17.11 Project: Alignment of Images	496	(7)
A ASCII Characters	503	(2)
B Matrix Operations	505	(4)
C Binary Flat Files	509	(4)
D Program Index	513	(4)
E Data Files	517	(2)
F Solutions to Selected Exercises	519	(16)
Bibliography	535	(2)
Index	537