The intention of this booklet is a brief but general introduction into the treatment
of the Finite Element Method (FEM). The FEM has become the leading
method in computer–oriented mechanics, so that many scientific branches
have grown up besides over the last decades. Nevertheless, the FEM today is
a question of economy. On the one hand its industrial application is forced to
reduce product development costs and time, on the other hand a large number
of commercial FEM codes and a still growing number of software for effective
pre– and postprocessors are available in the meantime.