Page 18 - A Guide to MATLAB for Beginners and Experienced Users

Preface xvii

Selectable menu items (from the menu bars in the MATLAB Desktop, figure
windows, etc.) are typeset in a boldface font. Submenu items are separated
from menu items by a colon, as in File : Open.... Labels suchas the names of
windows and buttons are quoted, in a “regular” font. File and folder names,
as well as Web addresses, are printed in a typewriter font. Finally, names
of keys on your computer keyboard are set in a SMALL CAPS font.
We use four special symbols throughout the book. Here they are together
withtheir meanings.
Paragraphs like this one contain cross-references to other parts of the book or
suggestions of where you can skip ahead to another chapter.
➱ Paragraphs like this one contain important notes. Our favorite is
“Save your work frequently.” Pay careful attention to these
paragraphs.
Paragraphs like this one contain useful tips or point out features of interest
in the surrounding landscape. You might not need to think carefully about
them on the first reading, but they may draw your attention to some of the
finer points of MATLAB if you go back to them later.

Paragraphs like this discuss features of MATLAB’s Symbolic Math
Toolbox, used for symbolic (as opposed to numerical) calculations. If you are
not using the Symbolic Math Toolbox, you can skip these sections.

Incidentally, if you are a student and you have purchased the MATLAB
Student Version, then the Symbolic Math Toolbox and SIMULINK are auto-
matically included withyour software, along withbasic MATLAB. Caution:
The Student Edition of MATLAB, a different product, does not come with
SIMULINK.

About the Authors

We are mathematics professors at the University of Maryland, College Park.
We have used MATLAB in our research, in our mathematics courses, for pre-
sentations and demonstrations, for production of graphics for books and for
the Web, and even to help our kids do their homework. We hope that you’ll
find MATLAB as useful as we do and that this book will help you learn to
use it quickly and effectively. Finally, we would like to thank our editor, Alan
Harvey, for his personal attention and helpful suggestions.