Clearly written by a practicing engineer for fellow practicing engineers, this book will show anybody with an undergraduate understanding of optics how to turbo-charge that knowledge using the wildly popular Python programming language.
The first baby steps are so simple that the author even counts the number of keystrokes required to set up and run the first piece of Python code. But the baby steps soon turn into leaps, as the author dives into best practices of using Python, suitable for a professional environment. The Python introduction in the first chapter is both thorough and efficient, taking about a third of the book, but covering more ground than many books dedicated to teaching Python.
Another chapter, almost as extensive as the Python one, provides a gentle introduction to optical simulation using ABCD matrices, including clear and useful examples of applications. The middle chapters dig deeper into the resources available on the internet: interfacing with hardware devices and using specialized third-party libraries. A final chapter on best practices in software engineering is a bit less developed, pointing the reader in good directions but not quite reaching the same depth as the earlier chapters.
The book could not be complete without the extensive sets of references in each chapter, very much practitioner-focused rather than including the latest academic papers. References are hyperlinked and available online. Each chapter is enhanced with multiple charts and diagrams, many of them in color (in the ebook version reviewed). Each chapter includes extensive examples of Python code, textual and graphical output, and detailed comments.
The lack of a keyword index was not a problem for the ebook but would be a drawback in the printed copy. Although not intended as a textbook, the book would make for a fabulous resource for a lab course or in the library of any optical professional.
Review by Bogdan Hoanca, University of Alaska Anchorage, USA.
The opinions expressed in the book review section are those of the reviewer and do not necessarily reflect those of OPN or its publisher, Optica (formerly OSA).