Engineering and Scientific Computing with Scilab [Hardcover]

Claude Gomez (Editor), C. Bunks (Contributor), J.-P. Chancelier (Contributor), F. Delebecque (Contributor), M. Goursat (Contributor), R. Nikoukhah (Contributor), S. Steer (Contributor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0817640096 | ISBN-13: 978-0817640095 | Publication Date: July 1, 1999 | Edition: 1

Scilab is a powerful, open computing environment designed for engineering and scientific applications. This book gives a thorough description of Scilab's use including how to master its environment and programming language, the use of Scilab's integrated graphics, the integration of user provided functions, and a tour of its numerous applications toolboxes. This book provides students and professionals with an introduction to Scilab and its use in engineering/scientific problem solving.

The book provides an overview of Scilab and includes an introductory, description of Scilab's programming language, syntax, useful functions, and graphics. Also described is how users can extend the functionality of Scilab by integrating custom Fortran and C programs as new Scilab primitives. The second part of the book presents the applications of Scilab to various scientific and engineering problems. Each of these topics is supported by a Scilab toolbox which is a rich collection of Scilab functions and primitives relevant to the application area.

This book comes with a CD ROM containing the entire source code of Scilab as well as binary, executables for a variety of operating systems (all this is also available free via the internet). This CD ROM also contains Scilab programs illustrating many of the examples in the book.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Highly recommended for students and professionals dealing with engineering and scientific computation—and seeking a powerful software alternative." —Simulation News Europe "For those who are unfamiliar with Scilab, here is a chance to get an introduction to this freeware package from a group that has been using Scilab in the classroom and the industry…. The book provides an overview of Scilab and consists of three major sections: an introduction to the software, a discussion of the major toolboxes, and a section on applications…. [Part II] provides a good summary of the types of computation Scilab is capable of performing, as well as a brief overview of many commands…. As an introduction to Scilab, this book is an excellent guide." —IEEE Control Systems Magazine

Product Details

• Hardcover: 491 pages
• Publisher: Birkhäuser Boston; 1 edition (July 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0817640096
• ISBN-13: 978-0817640095
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 6.9 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #796,376 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fine book on an excellent software, July 11, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Engineering and Scientific Computing with Scilab (Hardcover)

This is a good book describing an excellent free scientific Matlab-like software package available for many computing platforms. It complements well the extensive on-line help of the software and the information available on the Web.

The first three chapters gives a condensed overview of the software. I found the description of the graphics capabilities particularly useful as a reference. The next two chapters describe the use of the software for linear algebra, polynomials, linking to C and FORTRAN, and more advanced aspects. The remaining chapters concern tools and applications mainly of a system oriented nature. The tools are generally of a very high quality and accuracy, but of course slower than in compiled languages.

The book would have been been even more useful if it included more information on how to customize the software and a more comprehensive index. Also, the linking to C and FORTRAN routines does not appear to be completely simple.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book for scientists and engineers, February 10, 2006

By 

A. Papadimitriou "sterg" (Kavala, Greece) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Engineering and Scientific Computing with Scilab (Hardcover)

The book "Engineering and Scientific Computing" in Scilab,
presents clearly the elements of the Scilab language.
A scientist with some programming background,
even elementary, can readily learn and exploit the
elegant and compact Scilab scientific programming
environment.
However, the strongest point of the book is its tutorial
value. The reader can through the Scilab tool,
improve the knowledge of important signal processing topics,
exploit algorithms for the numerical solution of ODEs and
tackle with optimization problems. Furthermore, the book contains
excellent material on SCICOS (the dynamical system builder
that accompanies Scilab) and a lot of applications.
The CD that is included with the book is also very helpful.
The presented scientific applications are aimed mainly
to the advanced scientists and engineers, although a large part
can be utilized and by undergraduate students of an intermediate
level.
In summary, I liked and enjoyed this book and I strongly
recommend it to all the scientific/engineering community.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good introduction to Scilab, August 1, 2009

By 

lew "lwndw123" (Connecticut, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Engineering and Scientific Computing with Scilab (Hardcover)

Yes, Scilab has very good help system. But you have to start somehow. If you know Matlab already, you will have no problems with Scilab. If you don't know Matlab, you need this book. This is the "hello, world" class book for Scilab, describes basic programming constructs as well as methods for building programs using Scilab building blocks. Examples go from trivial to rather complicated and practical.

Even if you have mastered Scilab, you will neeed this book as quick reference. It is always close to my keyboard. Highly recommended!