LEAP 71

PicoGK.org/coding for engineers

Coding for Engineers

Foreword

There are many programming courses out there, including for C#.

So why another one?

People have asked me many times which course I would recommend, and I really haven’t found any that I like.

They seem to be either too simplistic, not really teaching how to architect good software. They get lost in "Hello World", the syntax of for loops, and don’t really teach you the foundations of object-oriented programming. On the other hand, there is a lot of stuff out there, which makes it all sound very complex. And none of it focuses on coding for engineering, because, well, Computational Engineering wasn’t a thing until recently.

I thought a lot about how to proceed with this project. Even though I am releasing this online, I chose the format of a book. A book, has a narrative, and is usually supposed to be read in sequence, and this is the case here. It’s not a manual, where you just look for a quick solution. This book follows a storyline. In each chapter, I will start simple, introducing concepts that may sound trivial at times.

But I will get into topics quickly, that others would label as quite advanced.

To get the most of this book, please spend time and attention. It’s so easy to skip over things (I do it all of the time). But when you get in the flow of reading, you have a different experience. I will do my best to keep it interesting.

I will try to strike a balance between teaching the absolute fundamentals of coding (you don’t need to know anything about programming to go through this book), and not getting lost in the weeds.

You will tell me whether I am succeeding in this.

My approach may be a bit unconventional, where I start each chapter with basic concepts, and then dive deep into subjects that you would usually find in much more advanced coursework. I will teach you about objects and classes, before I describe how to do if, then, else….

Because, in a way, it’s much more important to get your brain to think about the architecture of the software in the right way

And while I will be general at the beginning, I will quickly use PicoGK, the open-source geometry kernel for engineering I wrote in 2023, as the central focus of this book. The concepts I will cover are universally applicable, but this course is about coding for engineers, Computational Engineering, which PicoGK was created for.

Computational Engineering is the biggest revolution in engineering since the introduction of CAD. It is essential for every engineer to become proficient in encoding their knowledge into algorithms — it’s the only way you will have the ability to solve the complex engineering challenges that the 21st century will throw at you.

It will allow you to build machines that have never been built before, which approach the complexity of natural objects.

So, let’s dive in.

Next: Fundamentals

Jump into the discussion here

Table of contents

PicoGK.org/coding for engineers