Computing for Mathematics

About the textbook. This course follows the open-source textbook Python for mathematics at vknight.org/pfm, which contains every topic we cover, with worked tutorials, how-to recipes, exercises and full solutions. Not every chapter of the textbook is on the course: the schedule below lists what we cover, but you are very welcome to read the other chapters too.

Schedule

Tools for mathematics

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Group project

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

Week 11

FAQs

Can I use concepts learnt elsewhere?

I do not discourage you from using concepts learnt elsewhere. In most materials I point at other materials. However if you want to be sure to have done things correctly for your assessment I recommend using the concepts taught in this course.

Can I succeed in this course even if I am unsure about my programming ability?

This class assumes no prior programming knowledge and many students have in fact obtained full marks with no prior programming knowledge.

How can I follow along in class with my computer?

Just like in any other mathematics class, if you would like to try and follow along with the various steps we do in class: I recommend that you do.

If at some point you no longer are able to follow, make a note, perhaps skip where you are and continue to follow along or just continue to make notes.

How do I open the individual coursework notebook

  1. Right click on the link to the coursework and save the file to your computer (make a note of where it is on your computer).
  2. Do not double click on the file you have downloaded. (see https://vknight.org/pfm/tools-for-mathematics/01-using-notebooks/why/main.html#why-can-i-not-double-click-on-a-jupyter-notebook-file for an explanation).
  3. Start a Jupyter notebook server (see https://vknight.org/pfm/tools-for-mathematics/01-using-notebooks/how/main.html#start-a-jupyter-notebook-server for instructions).
  4. Using the Jupyter notebook interface navigate to the notebook file you saved on your computer in step 1 and click on it.

How do office hours work?

During the agreed office hours, you can come to my office (you do not need to book). If you would prefer to meet online, just send me an email or message me on discord.

What do you recommend for Python?

I recommend using the Anaconda distribution for Python which includes a large number of libraries for doing mathematics. Here are some resources that you might find helpful:

  1. A chapter of Python for Mathematics on installing and using Python: https://vknight.org/pfm/tools-for-mathematics/01-using-notebooks/introduction/main.html
  2. A chapter of Python for Mathematics on installing and using other libraries: https://vknight.org/pfm/further-information/04-pip-installing/introduction/main.html

Why do we use Jupyter notebooks?

Using Jupyter notebooks is a common approach when using python as opposed to developing tools in python. You can see a longer explanation of this here: https://vknight.org/pfm/tools-for-mathematics/01-using-notebooks/why/main.html#why-use-jupyter

We will be using Python through a different interface in the Spring Semester.

I hope that through this course you gain an appreciation for different ways to use Python and become adapt at choosing the best one for the particular task you are undertaking.