PYTHON for CIVIL and Structural Engineers

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.