Synopses & Reviews
The first book of its kind, Stephen Chapman's best selling book on MATLAB has now been updated to reflect MATLAB 6.0. The first edition has been highly successful in engineering schools where introductory programming is taught using MATLAB rather than a traditional programming language. Although C, C++, and Java suit the needs of computer science readers well, most engineering readers will not be programmers by trade. Readers use computer tools to perform complex tasks such as scientific calculations, data analysis, simulations, and visualization: all skills students will use again in upper level classes. MATLAB provides several built in toolkits to help readers accomplish these tasks, as well as an integrated devlopment environment. This book is distinctly unique from other MATLAB books in two ways. First, it is an introduction to MATLAB as a technical programming language rather than an introduction to the MATLAB environment. The author includes numerous pedagogical tools such as special boxes that highlight good programming practices, boxes that detail common pitfalls in MATLAB programming, and numerous programming exercises and examples. The book also makes wide use of MATLAB's predefined functions that provide tested solutions and time saved in writing subroutines or functions. Second, the book teaches readers how to write clean, efficient, and documented programs using sound problem solving techniques. Top-down programming methodology is introduced to the students in Ch. 3 and is used consistently thoughout the rest of the book. This encourages readers to think about the proper design of a program before beginning to code.
Synopsis
Introduces a top-clown design methodology, and then uses it consistently throughout the rest of the book. This methodology encourages a user to think about the proper design of a program before beginning to code. Specifically, it teaches users to (1) Clearly state the problem, (2) Define the inputs required by the program, and the outputs to be produced, (3) Describe the algorithm to be implemented in the program, (4) Turn the algorithm into MATLAB statements, and (5) Test the MATLAB program.
About the Author
Stephen J. Chapman is currently Manager of Technical Systems for British Aerospace Australia, in Melbourne, Australia. In this position, he provides technical direction and design authority for the work of younger engineers within the company. He is also continuing to teach at local universities on a part-time basis. Mr. Chapman is a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (and several of its component societies). He is also a member of the Association for Computing Machinery and the Institution of Engineers (Australia). From 1975 to 1980, he served as an officer in the U. S. Navy, assigned to teach Electrical Engineering at the U.S. Naval Nuclear Power School in Orlando, Florida. From 1980 to 1982, he was affiliated with the University of Houston, where he ran the power systems program in the College of Technology. From 1982 to 1988 and from 1991 to 1995, he served as a Member of the Technical Staff of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratory, both at the main facility in Lexington, Massachusetts, and at the field site on Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. While there, he did research in radar signal processing systems. He ultimately became the leader of four large operational range instrumentation radars at the Kwajalein field site (TRADEX, ALTAIR, ALCOR, and MMW). From 1988 to 1991, Mr. Chapman was a research engineer in Shell Development Company in Houston, Texas, where he did seismic signal processing research. He was also affiliated with the University of Houston, where he continued to teach on a part-time basis.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction To MATLAB«. 2. MATLAB« Basics. 3. Branching Statements and Program Design. 4. Loops. 5. User-Defined Functions. 6. Additional Data Types and Plot Types. 7. Sparse Arrays, Cell Arrays, and Structures. 8. Input/Output Functions. 9. Handle Graphics. 10. Graphical User Interfaces. Appendix A: Index of Selected MATLAB« Functions. Appendix B: Answers to Quizzes.