Application of Microcomputers and Generic Software in Engineering Geology

The computer is merely another tool, no more sophisticated than the slide rule when it was first invented. Before the seventies the ability to use a slide rule was necessary for math, science, and engineering students. In the early seventies hand calculators replaced slide rules. In the late seventies microcomputers replaced some hand calculators and some main frame computers. They etched out a niche of their own by actually solving problems barely defined before this point in time. The initial tide of “computer hackers” developed the earlier forms of simple utility programs which were later developed into some of the powerful generic software on the market today. The availability of today9s generic software makes it unnecessary to have the ability to program or understand the workings of a computer. Available software, although not specifically designed to perform geological, geotechnical, engineering, and construction functions, has proven to be limited only by the user9s imagination. Examples of the application of generic software to geological, geotechnical, engineering, and construction problems will be illustrated. Illustrations will also be given of custom/specific computer programs which are based on the use of computer graphics.