Differential Equations and Linear Algebra (2nd Edition)

Rating:
Summary: strong coverage of numerical methods
Review: When I first learnt differential equations and linear algebra, it was with texts written in the 60s and 70s. So I turned to this book with interest; wondering what has changed. Well, at the level of the book, most of the material has been known for decades. But one immediate difference is the profusion of diagrams and the increased use of colour. Due in part to improvements in printing technology. It means that current students also have more visual cues to learn from. When one is studying differential equations, this can be quite useful.

Also, there is indeed new material here. Numerical methods are prominently discussed in many sections. Due to vastly more common availability of computers. So students are not restricted to handling only those problems that can be solved by hand, to give simple analytic results. The scope of learning has expanded. Now granted, most of the numerical methods in the book were already known in the 70s. But they were usually presented in texts devoted to numerical analysis, for people specialising in that field. Nowadays, it can be used in other branches of maths, like that covered by this book.

Along these lines, the authors exhibit an ecumenical attitude towards what computer languages a reader might be familiar with. Example programs are given in Basic and for the TI-89. For symbolic algebra, code is furnished for Maple and Mathematica. They recognise that readers might have different preferences and they try to outreach to as many as practical.