Programming

Introduction

Computer programming is an important skill in scientific research. Although ancient scientists did wonderful jobs without any aid from computers, the efficiency of modern research greatly relies on computers. In addition to using the wide-spread software (MS Office etc.), being able to program not only adds flexibility, but also makes many tasks possible. For an experimentalist, a complex measurement benefits from the computerized automation; treating large amount data is only possible because of computer programming; simulation of an experimental process using a computer program helps the learning. It is fair to say, most researchers utilize computer programming to a certain degree. Therefore, certain training on computer programming will be beneficial. A higher level (i.e. software engineering, which enables handling complex, large programs) training will be even better. Here we share our learning experience of computer programming, mostly using the language Python and LabVIEW.