Circut Today

The method for solving a technical problem is very dependent on the tools that are available. When the only tools available were tables of various transcendental functions and a logarithmic slide rule, the preferred analytical methods were those which enabled the discovery of a solution in a closed form. Often certain approximations were applied that led to approximate solutions whose exactness was acceptable only within a certain region of input parameters.

The subsequent development of computers created a need for a theory to formulate the algorithm of calculation for which application programmes could be made. Initially computers were applied to solving the system of equations numerically, to which end various iterative and recursive numerical methods were used; with time the programmes were perfected so that they could generate a mathematical model of the solved system.

The situation has changed dramatically during the last decade, which has been characterised by further rapid developments in the field of PCs, particularly in terms of computer networks and a wide range of tutorial software. The latter is offered with a wide spectrum of graphical representations of studied dependencies, and work with computers is becoming more interactive in character. The issues of numerical methods that used to be connected with often demanding problems of convergence and the stability of calculation processes, as well as constructing individual programmes, have given way to a single question: what adequate strategy and method should be chosen for the implementation of a concrete project?