Practice question · Put in order
Order the stages of the scientific computing workflow.
- Validate against known cases and check convergence
- Discretise the continuous model onto a finite grid
- Solve the resulting discrete system numerically
- Interpret and visualise the results
- Model the real problem as mathematics
Hints
- There is nothing to discretise until the mathematics exists.
- Validation comes before interpretation, numbers must be earned before they mean anything.
Show the answer
- Model the real problem as mathematics
- Discretise the continuous model onto a finite grid
- Solve the resulting discrete system numerically
- Validate against known cases and check convergence
- Interpret and visualise the results
Why
Model, discretise, solve, validate, interpret. Skipping validation is the standard failure: a simulation always produces numbers, so the only thing distinguishing a result from an artefact is the checking done after the solve.
Practise Scientific Computing in Practice
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