Introduction to Scientific Computing Languages --- 2011-12

[Presentation]


Prerequisites

Basic knowledge of numerical linear algebra, programming languages, algorithms.


Overview

The goal of the course is to provide the students with tools to 1) achieve effective prototyping through high-level languages, and 2) write high-performance programs in C and/or Fortran. In this respect, programs will be evaluated with respect to metrics like performance, readability, elegance.
We will discuss programming languages and tools especially suitable for numerical & symbolic computations, data visualization, and high-performance computations. The focus will be on Matlab, Mathematica and C; no prior knowledge of these languages is required. We will also cover standard computational tools and Fortran-based libraries like BLAS and LAPACK.
The course is hands on. The students are expected to solve (and compete on) simple programming assignments and to present approach & results in front of the class.


Tentative syllabus

Introduction History of languages
Matlab
Floating point arithmetic
Conditioning
Mathematica
Maps, functions
Fixed & high-precision numbers; symbols
Imperative vs. functional programming
Data visualization
C
Performance
Numerical libraries



• Winter semester 2011-12.


• CAMPUS #: 11ws-14775


• Lectures begin: Tuesday, October 11, 5pm.




• Lectures & Exercises:
  Tuesdays, 17.00-18.30 (lecture)
  Thursdays, 17.00-18.30 (lecture + exercise)
  Rogowski 115 - AICES seminar room (Schinkelstrasse 2)


• Office hours: Tuesdays, 11am-1pm
  AICES R432 (Rogowski Building - Schinkelstrasse 2)


• Videos: Video AG
  
  
  

  Lectures

  Note: All the lectures are recorded and made available at Video AG
  
  
  
  
  • Programs & Programming Languages
    History of Programming Languages
  
  
  
  • Floating Point Arithmetic
  
  
  
  • Matlab
  
  
  
  • Matlab, part 2
    
    Correction of Assignment #1.
  
  
  
  • "\" and "/". Fast Fourier Transform.
  
  
  
  • Visualization in Matlab.
  
  
  
  • Mathematica - Part 1. Intro, lists, replacement rules.
  
  
  
  • Correction of Assignment #2.
  
  
  
  • Mathematica - Part 2 & 3. Functions & patterns.
  
  
  
  • Mathematica - Part 4 & 5. Maps, numbers.
  
  
  
  • Guest lecture: CUDA, by Enrique Quintana-Orti.
  
  
  
  • Mathematica exercises. Short intro to visualization.
  
  
  
  • Linear Algebra -> Cholesky Factorization, FLAME notation.
  
  
  
  • C, part 1.
  
  
  
  • C, part 2.
  
  
  
  • Fortran libraries: BLAS, LAPACK.
  
  
  
  • make, Makefile, bash scripting