The use of computers in analysis

Abstract

Automatic computers, both analog and digital, have attained a prominent place in most modern engineering curricula. The computer is recognized as an important engineering design tool permitting the student to test the efficacy of a large number of design hypotheses to determine an optimum design. In these applications the computer is favored because it enables the student to dispense with laborious hand calculations and because it familiarizes the engineering student with techniques which will subsequently be valuable to him in industry. The application of automatic computers to another category of engineering courses - courses in methods of analysis - is more controversial.