The book teaches students to model a scientific problem and write a computer program in C language to solve that problem. It introduces the basics of C language, and then describes and discusses algorithms commonly used in scientific applications (e.g. searching, graphs, statistics, equation solving, Monte Carlo methods etc.).

A variety of programming models relevant to scientists explained, with an emphasis on how programming constructs map to parts of the computer. What makes computer programs fast or slow? To answer this question, we have to get behind the abstractions of programming languages and look at how a computer really works. This book examines and explains a variety of scientific programming models (programming models relevant to scientists) with an emphasis on how programming constructs map to different parts of the computer's architecture. Two themes emerge: program speed and program modularity. Throughout this book, the premise is to "get under the hood," and the discussion is tied to specific programs. The book digs into linkers, compilers, operating systems, and computer architecture to understand how the different parts of the computer interact with programs. It begins with a review of C/C++ and explanations of how libraries, linkers, and Makefiles work. Programming models covered include Pthreads, OpenMP, MPI, TCP/IP, and CUDA.The emphasis on how computers work leads the reader into computer architecture and occasionally into the operating system kernel. The operating system studied is Linux, the preferred platform for scientific computing. Linux is also open source, which allows users to peer into its inner workings. A brief appendix provides a useful table of machines used to time programs. The book's website (https://github.com/divakarvi/bk-spca) has all the programs described in the book as well as a link to the html text.

The book serves as a first introduction to computer programming of scientific applications, using the high-level Python language. The exposition is example and problem-oriented, where the applications are taken from mathematics, numerical calculus, statistics, physics, biology and finance. The book teaches "Matlab-style" and procedural programming as well as object-oriented programming. High school mathematics is a required background and it is advantageous to study classical and numerical one-variable calculus in parallel with reading this book. Besides learning how to program computers, the reader will also learn how to solve mathematical problems, arising in various branches of science and engineering, with the aid of numerical methods and programming. By blending programming, mathematics and scientific applications, the book lays a solid foundation for practicing computational science. From the reviews: Langtangen ... does an excellent job of introducing programming as a set of skills in problem solving. He guides the reader into thinking properly about producing program logic and data structures for modeling real-world problems using objects and functions and embracing the object-oriented paradigm. ... Summing Up: Highly recommended. F. H. Wild III, Choice, Vol. 47 (8), April 2010 Those of us who have learned scientific programming in Python ‘on the streets’ could be a little jealous of students who have the opportunity to take a course out of Langtangen’s Primer.” John D. Cook, The Mathematical Association of America, September 2011 This book goes through Python in particular, and programming in general, via tasks that scientists will likely perform. It contains valuable information for students new to scientific computing and would be the perfect bridge between an introduction to programming and an advanced course on numerical methods or computational science. Alex Small, IEEE, CiSE Vol. 14 (2), March /April 2012 “This fourth edition is a wonderful, inclusive textbook that covers pretty much everything one needs to know to go from zero to fairly sophisticated scientific programming in Python...” Joan Horvath, Computing Reviews, March 2015

This open access book offers an initial introduction to programming for scientific and computational applications using the Python programming language. The presentation style is compact and example-based, making it suitable for students and researchers with little or no prior experience in programming. The book uses relevant examples from mathematics and the natural sciences to present programming as a practical toolbox that can quickly enable readers to write their own programs for data processing and mathematical modeling. These tools include file reading, plotting, simple text analysis, and using NumPy for numerical computations, which are fundamental building blocks of all programs in data science and computational science. At the same time, readers are introduced to the fundamental concepts of programming, including variables, functions, loops, classes, and object-oriented programming. Accordingly, the book provides a sound basis for further computer science and programming studies.

The TRIUMF Isotope Separator and Accelerator (ISAC) facility uses the isotope separation on-line (ISOL) technique to produce rare-isotope beams (RIB). The ISOL system consists of a primary production beam, a target/ion source, a mass separator, and beam transport system. The rare isotopes produced during the interaction of the proton beam with the target nucleus are stopped in the bulk of the target material. They diffuse inside the target material matrix to the surface of the grain and then effuse to the ion source where they are ionized to form an ion beam that can be separated by mass and then guided to the experimental facilities. Previously published in the journal Hyperfine Interactions.