Python for Scientists

by John M. Stewart

Overview

Python is a free and easy-to-use software tool that offers a significant alternative to proprietary packages such as MATLAB® and Mathematica®. This book explains Python from scratch, covering everything students and researchers need to get up and running. No previous knowledge of the software is required.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781139949620
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	07/10/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	10 MB

About the Author

John M. Stewart was Emeritus Reader in Gravitational Physics at the University of Cambridge, and a Life Fellow at King's College, Cambridge before his death in 2016. He was the author of Non-equilibrium Relativistic Kinetic Theory (1971) and Advanced General Relativity (Cambridge, 1991), and he translated and edited Hans Stephani's General Relativity (Cambridge, 1990).

Table of Contents

Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. Getting started with IPython; 3. A short Python tutorial; 4. Numpy; 5. Two-dimensional graphics; 6. Three-dimensional graphics; 7. Ordinary differential equations; 8. Partial differential equations: a pseudospectral approach; 9. Case study: multigrid; 10. Appendix A. Installing a Python environment; Appendix B. Fortran77 subroutines for pseudospectral methods; References; Index.

Editorial Reviews

Review of first edition: ‘… the practitioner who wants to learn Python will love it. This is the type of book I have been looking for to learn Python … concise, yet practical.' Adhemar Bultheel, European Mathematical Society (euro-math-soc.eu)

'… I still think the conciseness of the book is a major asset. It provides just enough to get you started with the language if you are already familiar with some computer programming or with a system like Maple or Mathematica.' Adhemar Bultheel, European Mathematical Society (euro-math-soc.eu)

'I highly recommend this book as a practical guide to real-life scientific programming. The book is well written, interspersed with great humor, and is presented from the viewpoint of a researcher who wants others to avoid suffering the same pitfalls and mistakes that he experienced.' Andreas Rueger, The Leading Edge

'This book is a rich resource for scientists who are familiar with programming and want to go beyond classical commercial scientific programming packages such as Mathematica and Maple … if you want to expand your research toolbox and computational flexibility, this book is a fantastic find … I highly recommend this book as a practical guide to real-life scientific programming. The book is well written, interspersed with great humor, and is presented from the viewpoint of a researcher who wants others to avoid suffering the same pitfalls and mistakes that he experienced.' Andreas Rueger, The Leading Edge

From the Publisher