Scientific computing with PCs

Nash, Nash.0887690084

This book tells “what to”, “why to” and “when to” use personal computers (PCs) for carrying out scientific computing tasks. There are many books that purport to tell users how to operate particular software packages or to set up and maintain their personal computer hardware. These “how to” volumes have their proper role and utility. Our goal is different: we aim to present ideas about the management decisions involved in using PCs for scientific and technical computing. The audience for this book is any scientist, engineer, statistician, economist, or similar worker who is considering using a personal computer for all or part of his or her technical work. The ideas we present can be used at the individual or group level. Being ideas about the management of resources, they are kept simple to the extent that readers will think “I know that.” We stress, however, that it is the day-to-day practice of management ideas that counts; theoretical knowledge is like a smoke alarm without a battery.

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Table of contents :
Scientific Computing with PCs – Forward……Page 1
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Scientific Computing with PCs – Chapter 1: Introduction and Purpose: How Scientific Problems are Solved……Page 7
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Scientific Computing with PCs – Chapter 2: Data processing capabilities of PCs……Page 12
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Scientific Computing with PCs – Chapter 3: Computational capabilities of PCs……Page 20
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Scientific Computing with PCs – Chapter 4: Will a PC suffice?……Page 30
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Scientific Computing with PCs – Chapter 5: File management……Page 37
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Scientific Computing with PCs – Chapter 6: Programming……Page 48
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Scientific Computing with PCs – Chapter 7: Size Difficulties……Page 57
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Scientific Computing with PCs – Chapter 8: Timing Considerations……Page 66
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Scientific Computing with PCs – Chapter 9: Debugging……Page 79
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Scientific Computing with PCs – Chapter 10: Utilities — a desirable set……Page 90
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Scientific Computing with PCs – Chapter 11: Looking after the Baby: Hardware and Operating Practice……Page 97
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Scientific Computing with PCs – Chapter 12: Steps in Problem Solving……Page 108
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Scientific Computing with PCs – Chapter 13: Problem formulation……Page 118
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Scientific Computing with PCs – Chapter 14: The Internal Rate of Return Problem……Page 126
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Scientific Computing with PCs – Chapter 15: Data Fitting and Modelling……Page 134
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Scientific Computing with PCs – Chapter 16: Trajectories of Spacecraft……Page 144
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Scientific Computing with PCs – Chapter 17: Simulating a Hiring Process……Page 150
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Scientific Computing with PCs – Chapter 18: A Program Efficiency Study: the Cholesky Decomposition……Page 155
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Scientific Computing with PCs – Chapter 19: Case study: graphical tools for data analysis……Page 166
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Scientific Computing with PCs – Chapter 20: Your Own Strategy for Scientific Computing on PCs……Page 178
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Scientific Computing with PCs – Bibliography, Figures, Tables, Index……Page 186
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