Customer Reviews

Applied Numerical Methods for Engineers Using MATLAB and C

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I took a course numerical methods in Mechanical Engineering which covered much of the same material. The class text was "Applied Numerical Methods for Engineers" Using MATLAB and C, by Robert J. Schilling and Sandra L. Harris.

I found the Schilling book very tedious. Also the MATLAB code included with teh book was really awful. Some of the codes contained mistakes so that they would produce the wrong answers. Other codes contained mistakes that would generate errors when you tried to run the programs. Other codes from the Schilling text were just ported over from C; the structure was inefficient and hard to follow- not well suited for MATLAB.

The Schilling book didn't encourage the reader to use many MATLAB functions that were built-in. The text tried to explain everything the hard way and was overall a very mediocre book- All the students and Professor in teh class agreed that Schilling's was a very mediocre book. I found it very confusing.

So I finally bought this one [Numerical Methods in Engineering with Matlab, Kiusalaas] on the recommendation of another student. It helped tremendously so I could do the final project and salvage a 'B' from the course. The codes are simpler to follow and more appropriate to MATLAB. It contains a much better explanation of the eigenvalue problems and systems of linear algebraic equations.

It's more practical if you want ot learn to do instead of [Schilling] putzing around getting stuck in minutiae. Or if you might prefer to do something first and then go back for a try at understanding the minutiae later.

I only wish I had bought this book sooner. The Schilling text ["Applied Numerical Methods for Engineers" Using MATLAB and C, by Robert J. Schilling and Sandra L. Harris] sucked. This book [Numerical Methods in Engineering with Matlab, Kiusalaas] was much better for MATLAB users.