Introductory description

This module should help you develop C programming skills. The module will consist of some lectures and a series of programming exercises designed to illustrate important aspects of program design. The module will also cover some important numerical techniques used in data processing in physics. Aspects relating to the reliability, accuracy and efficiency of these techniques will be discussed, as well as other issues such as making software user friendly, and data transfer between platforms. The module will be assessed on the basis of the exercises completed during the module and some project work.

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

1. The C Syntax and the development cycle. The underlying representation of data in hardware
   will be discussed, and the methods by which the C language reveals this low-level description
   through the use of pointers.
2. Tools for debugging and verifying C programs will be introduced, and coding standards and
   effective programming techniques introduced to reinforce the concepts of modularity and clarity
   in code writing.
3. Numerical representation of mathematical objects, and, in particular, multi-dimensional
   functions, will be introduced. Numerical integration will be used to illustrate concepts of
   numerical accuracy and the relationship of numerical methods to function properties.
4. Algorithms for solving chaotic and stochastic differential equations will be explored, and
   robustness and reproducibility will be quantified.
5. The finite difference method will be explained, along with concepts of numerical convergence
   and stability.
6. Minimisation techniques and the use of the weak form of equations will be used to introduce
   finite-element and variational approaches.
7. Data structures, and in particular lists and tree algorithms. Use of these in physics problems, in
   particular, n-body codes.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Program in the C language, and be familiar with the development cycle and debugging tools.
• Explain how computer hardware implements numerical operations and the implications for numerical software
• Select appropriate algorithms to solve physics problems, including those that involve partial differential equations
• Test their code and determine the size of numerical errors.

Indicative reading list

Steve Oualliane, ‘Practical C Programming’, O’Reilly Media, 1997

William H Press, Saul Teukolsky, William Vetterling and Brian Flannery, ‘Numerical Recipes in C’,
Cambridge University Press, 2007

View reading list on Talis Aspire

Subject specific skills

Skills in computer-modelling, reasoning, thinking. Knowledge of mathematics and physics.

Transferable skills

Analytical, communication, computing and general IT, problem-solving, self-study