Engineering Problem Solving with C++

Engineering problems rarely arrive as neat programming exercises. They begin with a question, information to organize, and a solution that must be tested. Engineering Problem Solving with C++ teaches introductory programming in that practical context, pairing core C++ concepts with examples drawn from engineering and the sciences.

Build a problem-solving method alongside your C++ skills

Etter and Ingber return to a five-step engineering problem-solving process throughout the book: define the problem, identify input and output information, work through a simple example, develop an algorithm and program, then test the result with varied data. That repeated structure gives students a way to approach new problems—not just a collection of language features to memorize.

From first programs to more advanced concepts

The sequence moves from program structure, variables, operators, and input/output into selection and repetition, data files, functions, and arrays. Later chapters introduce pointers, dynamic memory, linked structures, the C++ Standard Template Library, data abstraction, recursion, templates, and inheritance. Examples of development environments, including Xcode, NetBeans, and Microsoft Visual C++, also appear in the chapter contents.

Engineering applications make the ideas concrete

Topics are connected to applications such as vehicle performance, weather data, GPS, speech-signal analysis, tsunami warning systems, terrain navigation, electrical circuits, and image processing. These examples give readers a view of how programming tools can be used to represent, process, and investigate technical problems.

Numerical techniques, introduced in context

The book also covers methods used in engineering computation, including linear interpolation, linear modeling, polynomial roots, numerical integration, and solving simultaneous equations. They sit alongside the programming material, helping readers see how algorithms and numerical ideas work together in applied problems.

A textbook for an introductory engineering and computing course

With its progression from fundamentals to object-oriented and data-structure topics, this fourth edition is aimed at students beginning C++ in engineering or computer science. Its defining emphasis is the connection between writing a program and reasoning carefully about the problem the program is meant to solve.