Page 16 - A Guide to MATLAB for Beginners and Experienced Users

Preface xv

How This Book Is Organized

In writing, we drew on our experience to provide important information as
quickly as possible. The book contains a short, focused introduction to
MATLAB. It contains practice problems (withcomplete solutions) so you can
test your knowledge. There are several illuminating sample projects that show
you how MATLAB can be used in real-world applications, and there is an en-
tire chapter on troubleshooting.
The core of this book consists of about 75 pages: Chapters 1–4 and the begin-
ning of Chapter 5. Read that much and you’ll have a good grasp of the funda-
mentals of MATLAB. Read the rest — the remainder of the Graphics chapter
as well as the chapters on M-Books, Programming, SIMULINK and GUIs, Ap-
plications, MATLAB and the Internet, Troubleshooting, and the Glossary —
and you’ll know enoughto do a great deal withMATLAB.
Here is a detailed summary of the contents of the book.
Chapter 1, Getting Started, describes how to start MATLAB on different
platforms. It tells you how to enter commands, how to access online help, how
to recognize the various MATLAB windows you will encounter, and how to
exit the application.
Chapter 2, MATLABBasics, shows you how to do elementary mathe-
matics using MATLAB. This chapter contains the most essential MATLAB
commands.
Chapter 3, Interacting with MATLAB, contains an introduction to the
MATLAB Desktop interface. This chapter will introduce you to the basic
window features of the application, to the small program files (M-files) that you
will use to make most effective use of the software, and to a simple method
(diary files) of documenting your MATLAB sessions. After completing this
chapter, you’ll have a better appreciation of the breadth described in the quote
that opens this preface.
Practice Set A, Algebra and Arithmetic, contains some simple problems for
practicing your newly acquired MATLAB skills. Solutions are presented at
the end of the book.
Chapter 4, Beyond the Basics, contains an explanation of the finer points
that are essential for using MATLAB effectively.
Chapter 5, MATLABGraphics, contains a more detailed look at many of
the MATLAB commands for producing graphics.
Practice Set B, Calculus, Graphics, and Linear Algebra, gives you another
chance to practice what you’ve just learned. As before, solutions are provided
at the end of the book.