Choosing a programming language - physics

[cyberdeathreaper]

If I'm going to attempt creating computer programs for simulating theories as complicated as string theory, what language should I be looking at? I have some experience with C++, but if I'm going to devote a large part of my free time to learning a language, I'd like to learn something that will be specifically useful for what I need. I'm sure this question has probably been asked before, but I didn't find any search results. Thanks in advance.

 

[TenaliRaman]

Many of the physics type people i know, like MATLAB for most simulations. The best thing abt it (according to them) being that you don't have to waste time writing graphics packages. ( Otherwise ofcourse any general software development language like C/C++ or Java should help you, ofcourse the amount of effort will the relatively too much )

-- AI

 

[PerennialII]

I concur with that, first do as much as possible scripting in packages such as Matlab, Mathematica - "next level" could be to use subroutine libraries and programming languages in conjunction with general packages such as those 2 above (it's pretty ease to interface stuff), before going all the way and writing from scratch with C++ or any other related language (and in this case picking code from libraries etc. is highly recommendable IMHO, for getting things done as much as getting them working properly - quite a bit of the really "serious software" seems to be written in C++, in "rough" computing fortran still prospers, but would recommend you'd just go deeper with C++ if you've a handle on it).

 

[cyberdeathreaper]

Thanks for the recommendations. I didn't realize C++ could be used in conjuction with Matlab/Mathematica - do you know of any sources out there that describe how to do it?

 

[neurocomp2003]

depends on what you want to do...if youw ant to simulate in Realtime 3D i don't think MATLAB can support that...I've been looking for a port from MATLAB to C++ and vice versa if you've found one can i have it...Matlab utilizes its interface to run doesn't it? How can you export an exe?

As for C/C++ it depends on what you want to do ..again if you want to do REALTIME 3D there are APIs out there for you to use OpenGL/Directx being the standards...also look into GLUT and SDL to maintain the active window...you could also use 3D (game) engines like Quakes/Unreal/Torque/Irrlicht/Ogre3D and it also depends on the methods you want to use for you scene management like BSPs/OCtrees/Particle mesh methods.

There are also numerical packages out there LAPACK(think this was for fortran) but there are others NIM i think was the acronym of one...but you shouhld still learn the basic techniques in numerical methods before moving onto the pacakges.

 

[robphy]

For symbolic and some numerical calculations, Maple and Mathematica are good.


If want a physics-friendly real-time 3D, with a minimal learning curve [and minimal programming overhead], try http://www.vpython.org.

Certainly, if you need higher-performance, you can prototype in python, then port to C/C++. (Python does have some scientific library packages [e.g. SciPy, Numerical Python] and some ways to interface to C/C++ [e.g. Boost Python].)

Oh, yeah... Python and VPython are free and run on numerous platforms.

 

[Jelfish]

If you're doing stuff that requires a lot of numerical calculations, I suggest using classic FORTRAN (i.e. FORTRAN 70). It's not really good for more than basic math computation, but it works very fast and has some neat built-in distributive computing functions (to make use of those university clusters).

 

[Antiphon]

Use MATLAB to prototype. If you still need more speed or need to cross a platform,
FORTRAN and C are still the fastest. For numerical work with complex vairables
FORTRAN is better than C unless you prefer programming to physics.

 

[PerennialII]

Thanks for the recommendations. I didn't realize C++ could be used in conjuction with Matlab/Mathematica - do you know of any sources out there that describe how to do it?

The Matlab external interfaces & compiler manuals are good sources (can view at mathwork site), containing the principles of interfacing with fortran, C and Java.