Available:*
Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... | 30000001508815 | TA345 F36 1986 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
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Summary
Summary
This is a book about software packages for use by civil engineers. It is written for engineers who need software that can do the job without re quiring that they become computer experts or programmers. The purpose of this book is to present a broad picture of the personal computer packages now available for use by civil engineers. Each chapter is devoted to an area, such as structures, surveying, hydrology, drafting, or equation-solving, in which a number of software packages are presently offered for use with personal computers. The chapter introductions explain what kinds of design or analysis or other tasks these packages perform, outlining the available choices, and comparing the capabilities of the var ious packages. Detailed reviews of individual packages follow. The emphasis here is on what the user must know and do to employ the capabilities of the package. Going beyond general description, these reviews also explain what the pack ages actually will and will not do. Although many packages are covered, there is no attempt here at completeness. In every category covered in the book, many more packages exist than those that have been reviewed. In the fast-moving field of engineering software, many new packages are cur rently being written and marketed.
Reviews 1
Choice Review
Falk has been writer/editor of books and articles in the microcomputer microsoftware areas for a number of years. This book, which seems a spin-off of his editorship of Engineering Microsoftware Review, covers the broad range of areas in which the civil engineer works. Chapters address structural engineering, both analysis and design, hydrology, surveying and drafting, cost estimating and management, as well as mathematical techniques. Each chapter starts with several comments on various aspects of the types of software available in a subject area. This is followed with a list of some existing software packages together with a page or two of comments on the special features and limitations of each package. The book is more a limited catalog on vendors and their product with some critical remarks than it is a discussion of program makeup with examples; the material seems more appropriate for review articles than for a hardcover book. Because activity in this area is brisk, a rather short shelf life of a book such as this should be expected.-W.C. Schnobrich, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
