Written by the founder of symbolic logic (and Boolean algebra), this classic treatise on the calculus of finite differences offers a thorough discussion of the basic principles of the subject, covering nearly all the major theorems and methods with clarity and rigor. Includes more than 200 problems. 1872 edition.

Comprehensive study focuses on use of calculus of finite differences as an approximation method for solving troublesome differential equations. Elementary difference operations; interpolation and extrapolation; modes of expansion of the solutions of nonlinear equations, applications of difference equations, difference equations associated with functions of two variables, more. Exercises with answers. 1961 edition.

Since the original publication of this book, available computer power has increased greatly. Today, scientific computing is playing an ever more prominent role as a tool in scientific discovery and engineering analysis. In this second edition, the key addition is an introduction to the finite element method. This is a widely used technique for solving partial differential equations (PDEs) in complex domains. This text introduces numerical methods and shows how to develop, analyse, and use them. Complete MATLAB programs for all the worked examples are now available at www.cambridge.org/Moin, and more than 30 exercises have been added. This thorough and practical book is intended as a first course in numerical analysis, primarily for new graduate students in engineering and physical science. Along with mastering the fundamentals of numerical methods, students will learn to write their own computer programs using standard numerical methods.

This text provides a very simple, initial introduction to the complete scientific computing pipeline: models, discretization, algorithms, programming, verification, and visualization. The pedagogical strategy is to use one case study – an ordinary differential equation describing exponential decay processes – to illustrate fundamental concepts in mathematics and computer science. The book is easy to read and only requires a command of one-variable calculus and some very basic knowledge about computer programming. Contrary to similar texts on numerical methods and programming, this text has a much stronger focus on implementation and teaches testing and software engineering in particular.