Description

About this book

You will find in this book is exactly what is written in the title: you will learn to use python to solve civil/mechanical related engineering problems. This might seem difficult at first, especially if you have never used python before, but really there is no need to worry. I have seen plenty of people (my colleagues, mostly) start from zero and get to the point where they use python every day in very little time. Once you start learning, you will realize how much potential this language has, and where it can sit in your everyday workflow. Personally, since I have started using python I have stopped using many of the programs that where my everyday go-to. Why? because with python I can do everything much quicker, and in a much more efficient way. For example, I can do all my calculations and typeset them automatically in a pdf document, complete with images and tables, ready for print. This means that there is non need to write all the results by hand, which saves time and leaves less room for errors to seep in. What you will learn by reading this book is very practical knowledge, and that is why I have decided to structure the learning experience as a series of real world examples. I wanted to keep everything as closely related to engineering as possible, so apart from the first chapters where I explain the basics of the language, what follows is a compendium of code snippets that you will certainly find useful in your work environment. But what are the examples about? I come from a structural civil engineering background, and this book is targeted mostly toward people who have studied (or are studying) civil or mechanical engineering. There are examples about member design, forces diagrams plotting, section verification, finite element analysis, and much more. I hope you will follow trough all of them, and apply your newly acquired skills in real life.