Best Books for Learning Numerical Methods in C?

AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around recommendations for books on numerical methods in C programming. A prominent suggestion is "Numerical Recipes in C," which is noted for its comprehensive explanations of algorithms, although earlier editions contained Fortran code that was machine-translated into C, making it less idiomatic. Users express frustration with the lack of real C code in many numerical methods books and seek resources that provide practical implementations. The availability of older versions of "Numerical Recipes" for free online is mentioned, along with a discussion about the challenges of understanding specific methods like bisection. Additionally, industry-standard libraries such as BLAS, LAPACK, and LINPACK are referenced as useful resources for solving linear equations and other numerical problems. Overall, the conversation highlights the need for accessible, practical examples of numerical methods in C.
laymanhobbist
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any suggestions for a nice book regarding numerical methods in c?
 
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looks like a nice book ..

i have read many books with many "numerical methods" ..
but all those books lacks real c statements that does the math

thanks for the suggestion ..

let me check if this book is available anywhere for download ...
 
Older versions are available on the site for free.
 
jhae2.718 said:
Older versions are available on the site for free.
Yeah, but they are more aptly called "Numerical Methods in C-tran"
 
D H said:
Yeah, but they are more aptly called "Numerical Methods in C-tran"

"The determined Real Programmer can write FORTRAN programs in any language."
 
jhae2.718 said:
"The determined Real Programmer can write FORTRAN programs in any language."
I'm not sure that's a good thing...:eek:
 
It could be COBOL...
 
i downloaded the book from library.nu

now i have to understand methods like bisection ..

then put those methods in c statements

tough thing...
 
  • #10
laymanhobbist said:
i downloaded the book from library.nu

now i have to understand methods like bisection ..

then put those methods in c statements

tough thing...

How long have you been programming for?
 
  • #11
other than "hello world" ? nothing

this is in our syllabus ..which is why i think i am going to loose my degree
 
  • #12
I do recall a book (or series of books) that go under the title "Numerical Recipes in C". If it is at your library you may want to check it out.
 
  • #13
D H said:
Yeah, but they are more aptly called "Numerical Methods in C-
tran"

chiro said:
I do recall a book (or series of books) that go under the title "Numerical Recipes in C". If it is at your library you may want to check it out.

Same book, but each edition gets longer.

IIRC, the code in the first edition was Fortran (and more like Fortran 66 than Fortran 95). In the early (now out of print but free online) editions, the Fortran code was machine-translated into other languages, so it doesn't look much like idiomatic C, Pascal, or whatever.

On the other hand, the explanations of the algorithms are good, and the code does actually work - which is better value for money than some "free" software on offer!

In the current (not-free) editions the code has been rewritten, "OOPified", etc.
 
  • #14
laymanhobbist said:
i downloaded the book from library.nu

now i have to understand methods like bisection ..

then put those methods in c statements

tough thing...

I am not sure the numerical recipes covers it, but you might check out a number of libraries which are called -if I recollect correctly- BLAST, LAPACK, LINPACK, etc. A number of things you might want to implement might already have been solved.
 
  • #15
BLAS (not BLAST) LAPACK and LINPACK are certainly "industry standard" libraries for solving linear equations and eigensolutions, but the NR books cover a much wider range of numerical analysis topics.
 
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