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Importance of Programming in Civil Engineering

Jhean Ordoñez

Computer science is of great importance in civil engineering, this essay describes

the relationship that exists between civil engineering and computer science, taking into account everything

the points, that is; the work of the civil engineer (builder) and the contribution that he has made

computer science to its work.

It describes the need to integrate computing into professional practice.

civil engineer, it also describes in which field computing can be applied in the

civil engineering. Finally, it will be demonstrated that programming is very important and useful.

in civil engineering, to solve engineering problems.

In this era of information technology and communications, when everything is systematized, it is

assuming that all sciences and techniques, especially civil engineering, are in this

same tone, that is, to build programs to solve the problems that the

engineers are faced with in their daily tasks and what the projects themselves demand.

(Angarita, 2010)

Years ago, there were only traditional methods, their disadvantage is that these allow

solve engineering problems, only manually.

But it was not until the creation of computers and the evolution of technology

In computing, there has been progress, thanks to this, currently these processes are

they can be done quickly. For a civil engineer, it is necessary to be able to program.

and applying this to the work of the civil engineer, this allows for calculations that time

Looking back, we wouldn't have been able to, considering them tedious or almost impossible.

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The engineer must know how to program as this tool can provide them with a whole

range of opportunities to solve calculation, technical, and structural obstacles

that they find in their professional and university path. Despite this, a disadvantage

To program, it is possible to diminish long-term methodological capacities.

Civil engineers, over time, have been using languages of

programming to build programs or software, which have aimed to achieve

calculations which have represented a great saving of time, effort, energy, work

intellectual; to date there are special languages for the different specialties of the

engineering, which can facilitate the tasks of engineers. (Herbert, 2016)

In general, the solution to most engineering problems can be addressed

how to solve specific equations that govern all calculus; these equations

They can commonly be solved using analytical-experimental, numerical approaches.

or of any other type.

Excel provides a suitable platform for handling engineering problems.

These spreadsheets are a scientific tool. Eliminating the tasks

tedious and repetitive computational tasks that can be carried out manually.

Excel provides the user with numerous cell numbers that can be

preferably united and cooperating together.

The cells of the Excel spreadsheet can be interpreted as the indices of a

matrix and, subsequently, matrix-based codes can be implemented. The

substantial capacity to solve the problem for other probable scenarios or

different values bring encouraging experiments especially for students

university students. The ability to link Excel to other software provides an opportunity

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incredible for users to prepare input or output data in Excel format

(Punuru & Knopf, 2000)

One can implement different techniques to: (1) determine the roots of the

equations, (2) solve systems of simultaneous equations, (3) solve the problem

from the initial value, (4) solves the boundary value problem, (5) solves the differential

partial of equations, (6) perform linear regression and curve fitting.

In order to use computer-assisted programs to solve problems of

engineering, numerous open-source and commercial codes have proposed software

to deal with a specific type of problems. Among these, Excel (VBA) has emerged.

as a software alternative since it can be used for a variety of

purposes, in the different branches of engineering. (Niazkar & Afzali, 2016)

Visual Basic is one of the most popular programming languages for personal computers.

used among expert and beginner programmers, allows combining the

programming facilities of Visual Basic with the power of Excel.

A programming environment like Visual Basic for Excel facilitates rapid development.

of applications with an acceptable graphical interface, a structured language and the

Excel power.

On the other hand, if one takes into account the wide dissemination, acceptance, and extensive use of

Excel in universities and the environment, the use of this development environment is

recommended for the typical applications of most engineering courses.

(Coronado & García, 2001)

Within programming languages, there are three formal or structural elements.

indispensables, the lexicon, syntax, and semantics, each of these plays a

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specific function in the development or construction of programs, but in the jargon

systems are known as syntax, which allows codes to perform the

function or operation for which they were programmed.

The approach is to use Excel as the sole problem solver, and also the

step-by-step solution procedure in the spreadsheet. Since both the solution

Excel implementation and concerns are important, not just problems.

relatively simple but also common were selected to focus more

in the Excel application. (Angarita, 2010)

Steps to solve a problem

To achieve the realization of a program, it is necessary to have prior design of a

algorithm, without an algorithm a program cannot exist.

Algorithms are independent of the programming language in which they are implemented.

express as the computer that runs them. In each problem, the algorithm is

can be expressed in a different programming language, and executed in a

different computer. (Hidalgo, 2014)

1. Definition or analysis of the problem

2.Algorithm design

3. Transformation of the algorithm into a program

4. Execution and validation of the program.

Conclusions

1. The development of a code or algorithm for solving problems of

engineering is very helpful in the teaching process, as it also

solving problems more quickly allows us to verify that the

the problem is solved effectively.

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2. The ease of use, great spreadsheet environment, and its add-ons make

that Excel is a good tool for solving different problems of

engineering.

3. The help of computer science facilitates the work of the student or professional, by

moment to apply theories and mathematical models in the resolution of

engineering problems, such as beam deflection, geotechnics in the

case of civil engineering.

It was demonstrated that programming is important in the profession of an engineer.

civil just like for other engineering fields, as it allows solving problems

difficult, and it is also very useful when there are repetitive tasks.

1.Bibliography
Angarita, J. (2010). PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE IN ENGINEERING
CIVIL.Obtained from https://es.scribd.com/document/264190070/LENGUAJE-DE-
PROGRAMMING-WITHIN-CIVIL-ENGINEERING
Coronado, C., & García, J. (December 2001). Visual Basic for Excel in teaching
of Engineering.
Herbert, C. (December 13, 2016). Programming in Civil Engineering. Retrieved from
Unable to access content from external links.
Hidalgo, C. (August 16, 2014). Programming in Civil Engineering. Obtained from
Unable to access content from the provided link.
First Class
Niazkar, M., & Afzali, H. (December 20, 2016). Streamline Performance of Excel in
Stepwise Implementation of Numerical Solutions. Computer Applications in
Engineering Education, 555.
Oke, S. (2004). Spreadsheets applications in engineering education—A review. Int J Eng
Educ 20, 893-901.
Punuru, J., & Knopf, F. (2000). Bridging Excel and C/C++ code. Comput Appl Eng Educ
16, 289-304.

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