About Book:

            It has been twenty years since we published the first edition of this book.  Over that period, our original contention that numerical methods and computers would figure more prominently in the engineering curriculum–particularly in the early parts–has been dramatically borne out.  Many universities now offer freshman, sophomore, and junior courses in both introductory computing and numerical methods.  In addition, many of our colleagues are integrating computer-oriented problems into other courses at all levels of the curriculum.  Thus, this new edition is still founded on the basic premise that student engineers should be provided with a strong and early introduction to numerical methods.  Consequently, although we have expanded our coverage in the new edition, we have tried to maintain many of the features that made the first edition accessible to both lower-and upper-level undergraduates.  These include:

• Problem Orientation.  Engineering students learn best when they are motivated by problems.  This is particularly true for mathematics and computing.  Consequently, we have approached numerical methods from a problem-solving perspective.
• Student-Oriented Pedagogy.  We have developed a number of features to make this book as student friendly as possible.  These include the overall organization, the use of introductions and epilogues to consolidate major topics and the extensive use of worked examples and case studies from all areas of engineering.  We have also endeavored to keep our explanations straightforward and oriented practically.
• “Clear Box” Approach.  Although we emphasize problem solving, we believe that it is self-limiting for engineers to approach numerical algorithms as “black boxes”.  Thus, we include sufficient theory to allow users to understand the basic concepts behind the methods.  In particular, we stress theory related to error analysis, the limitations of the methods, and trade-offs among methods. 

Personal Computing Orientation.  When we first wrote this book, there was a great chasm between the batch world of mainframe computers and the interactive world of PCs.  Today, as PC performance grows, the distinctions are falling away.  That said, this book still emphasizes visualization and interactive calculations, which are the hallmarks of personal computing.