Comments on: Best Programming Language for an Engineer

Question: Best Programming Language for an Engineer

warriorengineer — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:52:21 -0800

What would be the best programming language for me to learn for use as a Water Resources Engineer?

I am a Water Resources Engineer, and I do a lot of modeling. In college, I took a class in which we used VB and a class in which we used Fortran. In grad school (masters) I used mostly matlab or just excel for problem solving. I am considering getting my PhD. and if I do, it is likely that I'll have to do a good bit of programming (Its very likely that I'll be writing some finite element method code). I am trying to determine which would be the best programming language for me to learn. I didn't really like VB or Fortran, and believe that they are both too limited. IF you have any question for me please ask. thanks.

By: milqman

milqman — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:06:17 -0800

Sounds largely academic. That being the case, you will probably be using a lot of MATLAB. If there is a lot of finite element work, you will probably work with a package for that purpose (ALGOR, Ansys, CosmosWorks, . . . ). If you are doing a lot of experimental work, you may run in to your fair share of LabVIEW.

By: swordfishtrombones

swordfishtrombones — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:09:46 -0800

It depends on the size of the calculations you intend to run. Matlab is perfectly suitable to do FEM stuff, and it comes with easy visualization and pre/post-processing tools. However, if you want to run very large (i.e. week-long CFD runs on hundreds of CPUs), you best bet would be Fortran (or maybe C++). Do you have more details on what you will be modeling exactly?

By: demiurge

demiurge — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:12:33 -0800

Well, C++ is everywhere, so if you don't know that, you should, especially if you're interested in something with a little higher performance than matlab. It really depends on the specific packages you're working with. If a library that you want to use is designed for use in a specific language, you're probably better off trying to use that language.

By: warriorengineer

warriorengineer — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:37:24 -0800

Let me first state that I failed to mention that I want something that will be practical for me to use at work also. Second, I'm looking for something that can be compiled and run stand alone, leaving MATLAB out.

As for what I would be using it with: a piece of software that is growing in popularity right now is the Army Corps of Engineers' ADH (Adaptive Hydraulics). It is software that creates a basic mesh for a rough bas run and then refines the mesh in areas where values fluctuate steeply across an element, again and again until things stabilize.

As far as what I wil be modeling. HOPEFULLY, it would be something along the lines of the flow of water and sediment ina river through a large river diversion into coastal wetlands.

By: wongcorgi

wongcorgi — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 16:53:32 -0800

Programming languages aren't specialized like that. What are you trying to do/build?

By: signal

signal — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 18:32:37 -0800

Python + numpy = standalone Matlab.
Get the Enthought distribution. Batteries really frickin' included.

By: PueExMachina

PueExMachina — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 19:27:55 -0800

Seconding signal's suggestion. See here for python learning materials.

By: markr

markr — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 23:16:38 -0800

The MATLAB Compiler allows you to generate stand alone programs with MATLAB. Not saying you should or shouldn't use it, but it's there.

I like python a lot though.

By: warriorengineer

warriorengineer — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 08:03:22 -0800

What makes Python so good?

wongcorgi, I will be building computer models to do CFD and visualization.

By: sandking

sandking — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:51:55 -0800

Wait a little while, and then grab onto Fortress when it comes out for reals.

By: signal

signal — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:44:04 -0800

What makes Python so good?

Easy to learn
Powerful
Tons of libraries
Interactive mode
Great community
Really good free documentation
Cross platform
Fabulous 2d & 3d visualization

The Zen of Python, by Tim Peters

Beautiful is better than ugly.
Explicit is better than implicit.
Simple is better than complex.
Complex is better than complicated.
Flat is better than nested.
Sparse is better than dense.
Readability counts.
Special cases aren't special enough to break the rules.
Although practicality beats purity.
Errors should never pass silently.
Unless explicitly silenced.
In the face of ambiguity, refuse the temptation to guess.
There should be one-- and preferably only one --obvious way to do it.
Although that way may not be obvious at first unless you're Dutch.
Now is better than never.
Although never is often better than *right* now.
If the implementation is hard to explain, it's a bad idea.
If the implementation is easy to explain, it may be a good idea.
Namespaces are one honking great idea -- let's do more of those!