B O O K R E V I E W S

Engineering Applications of Computational Hydraulics, Volume 1 Edited by M. B. Abbott and J. A. Cunge Pitman Publishers, 352 pp.

This book consists of 11 chapters writ ten by 23 contribu- tors in homage to Alexandre Priessmann on the occasion of his re t i rement f rom S O G R E A H in 1981. It was sponsored by the Commi t t ee on Use Qf Computers in Hydraulics and Water Resources of IAHR. Quoting from the Preface, ' . . . Alexandre Priessmann was not the first to apply numerical methods on computers to open channel hydraulics; the credit for this goes to J. J. Stoker and his teanl from the Courant Inst i tute of New York University. But Priessmann is one of those who t ransformed mathemat ica l modell ing from a purely academic exper ience into an engineering tool . . . . ' Abbo t t expands on this in the in t roduc to ry chapter and draws a picture of a person of modesty, high intellect and considerable influence on this co-workers. Cunge completes the picture by painting in the background of Priessmann's work at SOGREAH from 1958 to 1981, emphasising his pioneering work as a mathemat ic ian serving engineers. The two editors make the point that all the con- t r ibutors have been influenced direct ly or indirect ly by Priessmann's w o r k - as, indeed, have nearly all who use computa t iona l hydraulics as a tool.

The resulting book presents an over view of the applica- tion of numerical modell ing to problems of free-surface hydraulics and hydrology. Chapters can be divided broadly into some concerned with comphta t iona l tech- niques and some with applications to solution of engineer- ing problems. The former cover a wide range, f rom a concise and clear s ta tement of the Boundary E lement Method to a long and masterly study of the propert ies of diffracting waves based on classical theory, while the latter include a chapter on modell ing free flows in sewer ne tworks one of the most difficult of one-dimensional hydraul ic p r o b l e m s - and chapters on hydrological prob- lems including modell ing of the River Nile and its effect on Lake Nasser. Most of the chapters contain results of com- putat ions which illustrate the various computa t iqna l tech- niques. In each case, the authors have stated the problems clearly and fully, with the result that readers can benefi t f rom their experiences and can learn from their ideas.

This is a book that is interesting and, despite the com- plexi ty of much of its content , easy to read. A first impres- sion may be that it provides a useful s ta tement of present knowledge of the art of numerical analysis of free surface problems of hydraulics. In fact, it goes nmch fur ther than that ; there is material in it that makes the reader stop and think about his basic assumptions and quest ion their validity. Some of the chapters are likely to becomes works of reference for some t ime to come. Thank you, Alexandre Priessmann.

Professor D. M. McDowell. University of Manchester

Software Engineering lan Sommerville Addison-Wesley, London, May 1982. £7.50

This book describes in simple terms the main characteristics of the newly developed discipline called Engineering Soft- ware. This discipline has been born due to the difficult ies combined in implement ing and testing large software

systems. The software engineers must nowadays be able t., assess and apply existing computa t ional techniques in an effective and efficient nlanner. This requires in addit ion t{, comput ing sciences, a knowledge of mathematics , manage- ment sciences, ergodynamics and even psychology.

This book is designed as a software engineering text book and for practising engineers, who need to acquire a better knowledge of the principles of engineering soft- ware. The emphasis along the book is on sot)ware, which is reliable and simple to understand and maintain. It is assumed that the reader is familiar with high Level program- ruing languages and basic compute r services.

Part 1 of the book considers the technical aspects of the subject. It contains chapters dealing with software require- ments, design, implementa t ion and testing. Part 2 considers the human aspects of software engineering. Its chapters cover documenta t ion , the design of user interfaces and cosiderations of relevance to software management .

The book contents deal with specification of software requirements , the design of software codes, implementa- tion of the design, preparing language combinat ions and proper methodology. It also discusses the problem of de- bugging and testing a code and stresses the importance of user documenta t ion and proper technical writing. The part of the chapters which cover system maintenance concen- trates on the costs of maintenance and program under- standing.

The last chapter covers the user interface design, user psychology and the use of graphics in interface design. They also concent ra te on the topic of software manage- m e n t .

The book is well writ ten and very easy to read. It reviews a large number of topics which are essential to the software engineer.

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Internat ional S y m p o s i u m on Offshore Engineer ing

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COPPE-UFl~i-Simposio Of fshore "83 Programa de Engeharia Civil

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180 Applied Ocean Research, 1983, Vol. 5, No. 3