Elementary Mathematical and Computational Tools for Electrical and Computer Engineers Using MATLAB

Jamal T. Manassah

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9780849374258
• eBook ISBN: 9781351831635
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Computer Engineering
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Engineers around the world depend on MATLAB for its power, usability, and outstanding graphics capabilities. Yet too often, engineering students are either left on their own to acquire the background they need to use MATLAB, or they must learn the program concurrently within an advanced course. Both of these options delay students from solving realistic design problems, especially when they do not have a text focused on applications relevant to their field and written at the appropriate level of mathematics. Ideal for use as a short-course textbook and for self-study Elementary Mathematical and Computational Tools for Electrical and Computer Engineers Using MATLAB fills that gap. Accessible after just one semester of calculus, it introduces the many practical analytical and numerical tools that are essential to success both in future studies and in professional life. Sharply focused on the needs of the electrical and computer engineering communities, the text provides a wealth of relevant exercises and design problems. Changes in MATLAB's version 6.0 are included in a special addendum. The lack of skills in fundamental quantitative tools can seriously impede progress in one's engineering studies or career. By working through this text, either in a lecture/lab environment or by themselves, readers will not only begin mastering MATLAB, but they will also hone their analytical and computational skills to a level that will help them to enjoy and succeed in subsequent electrical and computer engineering pursuits.

1
Starting with MATLAB and Exploring Its Graphics Capabilities

MATLAB can be thought of as a library of programs that will prove very useful in solving many electrical engineering computational problems. MATLAB is an ideal tool for numerically assisting you in obtaining answers, which is a major goal of engineering analysis and design. This program is very useful in research on circuit analysis, device design, signal processing, filter design, control system analysis, antenna design, microwave engineering, photonics engineering, computer engineering, and every other subfields of electrical engineering. It is also a powerful graphic and visualization tool of beneficial use for both quantitative courses and in your future career. In this chapter, we start our exploration of MATLAB; in subsequent chapters, we will add to our knowledge about this powerful tool of the modern engineer.

1.1 First Steps

The first step in using MATLAB is to know how to call it. It is important to remember that although the front-end and the interfacing for machines with different operating systems are sometimes different, once you are inside MATLAB, all programs and routines are written in the same manner. Only those few commands that are for file management and for interfacing with external devices such as printers may be different for different operating systems. After entering MATLAB, usually by double clicking on the MATLAB program icon, you should see the prompt >>, which means the program interpreter is waiting for you to enter instructions. The interpreter goes to work when you press the Return key. In case you wish to go to a new line for the purpose of continuing your instructions, you should enter ellipses (...) before you hit the Return key.

In case the program is already opened, and to make sure that nothing is saved from a previous session, type and enter:

>>clear all

This command removes all variables from the workspace. Also type and enter (we shall henceforth say just enter):

>>clf

This command creates a graph window (if one does not already exist) or clears an existing graph window. The command figure creates a new figure window, leaving the existing ones unaltered.

The command quit stops MATLAB.

Because it is not the purpose of this text to explain the function of every MATLAB command, how would you get information on a particular syntax? The MATLAB program has extensive help documentation available with simple commands. For example, if you wanted help on a function called roots (we will use this function often), you would type help roots.

Note that the help facility cross-references other functions that may have related uses. This requires that you know the function name. If you want an idea of the available help files in MATLAB, type help. This gives you a list of topics included in MATLAB.

To get help on a particular topic such as elementar...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• 1. Starting with MATLAB and Exploring Its Graphics Capabilities
• 2. Difference Equations
• 3. Elementary Functions and Some of Their Uses
• 4. Differentiation, Integration, and Solutions of Ordinary Differential Equations
• 5. Root Solving and Optimization Methods
• 6. Complex Numbers
• 7. Vectors
• 8. Matrices
• 9. Transformations
• 10. A Taste of Probability Theory
• Appendix A: Review of Elementary Functions
• Appendix B: Determinants
• Appendix C: Symbolic Calculations with MATLAB
• Appendix D: Some Useful Formulae
• Appendix E: Text Formatting
• Selected References
• Index