Mathematical Principles for Scientific Computing and Visualization [Hardcover]

Gerald Farin (Author), Dianne Hansford (Author)

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Product Details

Hardcover: 280 pages
Publisher: A K Peters/CRC Press; illustrated edition edition (Oct 21 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 156881321X
ISBN-13: 978-1568813219
Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 19 x 2.3 cm
Shipping Weight: 567 g
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,233,407 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Review

There are several software packages in wide use that make scientific computation and visualization easier to perform. However, the premise of Farin and Hansford is that without a basic understanding of the mathematics of a problem, the use of these packages could very well give unrecognized erroneous results. … There are numerous examples, and the exercises are designed to stimulate insight into the issues, rather than provide drill and practice. Mathematical Principles for Scientific Computing and Visualization is unique in its approach and written in an informal style … Highly recommended.
—CHOICE, June 2009

… a non-traditional introduction to the math of scientific computation and comes packed with many examples to provide readers with the right tools for using the software packages behind the computations. College-level collections strong in software engineering, science, math or computers will find it an excellent technical pick.
—California Bookwatch, February 2009

Product Description

This non-traditional introduction to the mathematics of scientific computation describes the principles behind the major methods, from statistics, applied mathematics, scientific visualization, and elsewhere, in a way that is accessible to a large part of the scientific community. Introductory material includes computational basics, a review of coordinate systems, an introduction to facets (planes and triangle meshes) and an introduction to computer graphics. The scientific computing part of the book covers topics in numerical linear algebra (basics, solving linear system, eigen-problems, SVD, and PCA) and numerical calculus (basics, data fitting, dynamic processes, root finding, and multivariate functions). The visualization component of the book is separated into three parts: empirical data, scalar values over 2D data, and volumes.

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Amazon.com: 4.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars broad scope but very little depth, Feb 10 2009

By W Boudville - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: Mathematical Principles for Scientific Computing and Visualization (Hardcover)

This is a curious book, and I am somewhat unsure what to make of it. The text covers a lot of numerical and visualisation ideas in a relatively short space, and that breadth is its greatest strength. It goes from a first principles description of differential calculus in 1 dimension to partial derivatives. Likewise, integration is defined, along with several numerical methods to perform it. The text goes into more advanced topics like finding the Jacobian, tensors, and even relatively specialised and recent ideas like eigenfaces for automated visual recognition.

The problem is that the discussion of each topic is so brief that you really do not learn that topic, beyond just a few definitions and an awareness of some applications. For example, take derivatives in 1 dimension. The text does not go into actual methods of finding many derivatives of different functions. While the abovementioned Jacobian is really mentioned only en passant in 1 paragraph.

The book is maybe best suited as an introductory CS text. To actually use any of its ideas, you will need a far more indepth discussion.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent technical pick, Feb 13 2009

By Midwest Book Review - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: Mathematical Principles for Scientific Computing and Visualization (Hardcover)

Many areas of scientific research, from biology to psychology, involve gathering data and computing results. While this book could have been easily considered in our Science, Nature and Technology section, it's reviewed here for its excellent insights for computer collections strong in both science and computational skills. It's a non-traditional introduction to the math of scientific computation and comes packed with many examples to provide readers with the right tools for using the software packages behind the computations. College-level collections strong in software engineering, science, math or computers will find it an excellent technical pick.

› Go to Amazon.com to see both reviews 4.0 out of 5 stars