  This article gives an introduction for mathematicians interested in numerical
computations in algebraic geometry and number theory to some recent progress in
algorithmic number theory, emphasising the key role of approximate computations
with modular curves and their Jacobians. These approximations are done in
polynomial time in the dimension and the required number of significant digits.
We explain the main ideas of how the approximations are done, illustrating them
with examples, and we sketch some applications in number theory.
