Essential MATLAB for Engineers and Scientists

Daniel T. Valentine, Brian H. Hahn

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9780128052716
• Edition: 6
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Digital Media
• Index: Computer Science

Essential MATLAB for Engineers and Scientists, Sixth Edition, provides a concise, balanced overview of MATLAB's functionality that facilitates independent learning, with coverage of both the fundamentals and applications. The essentials of MATLAB are illustrated throughout, featuring complete coverage of the software's windows and menus. Program design and algorithm development are presented clearly and intuitively, along with many examples from a wide range of familiar scientific and engineering areas.

This updated edition includes the latest MATLAB versions through 2016a, and is an ideal book for a first course on MATLAB, or for an engineering problem-solving course using MATLAB, as well as a self-learning tutorial for professionals and students expected to learn and apply MATLAB.

• Updated to include all the newer features through MATLAB R2016a
• Includes new chapter on complex variables analysis
• Presents a comparison of execution time between compiled and un-compiled code that includes examples
• Describes the new H2 graphics features

Chapter 1

Introduction

Abstract

The objectives of this chapter are to enable you to use some simple MATLAB commands from the Command Window, to examine various MATLAB desktop and editing features, to learn some of the new features of the MATLAB R2016a Desktop, to learn to write scripts in the Editor and Run them from the Editor, and to learn some of the new features associated with the tabs (in particular, the PUBLISH and APPS features). In this chapter you learn that MATLAB is a matrix-based computer system designed to assist in scientific and engineering problem solving. You also learn that one way to use MATLAB is to enter commands and statements on the command line in the Command Window. In this case the commands you enter are carried out immediately. You are also introduced to a number of useful built-in commands and functions.

Keywords

MATLAB R2016a; Elementary commands; Editing and executing commands

Chapter Outline

Using MATLAB

Arithmetic

Variables

Mathematical functions

Functions and commands

Vectors

Linear equations

Tutorials and demos

The desktop

Using the Editor and running a script

Help, publish and view

Symbolics and the MuPAD notebook APP

Other APPS

Additional features

Sample program

Cut and paste

Saving a program: script files

Current directory

Running a script from the current folder browser

A program in action

Summary

Exercises

Supplementary material

The objectives of this chapter are:

■ To enable you to use some simple MATLAB commands from the Command Window.

■ To examine various MATLAB desktop and editing features.

■ To learn some of the new features of the MATLAB R2016a Desktop.

■ To learn to write scripts in the Editor and Run them from the Editor.

■ To learn some of the new features associated with the tabs (in particular, the PUBLISH and APPS features).

MATLAB is a powerful technical computing system for handling scientific and engineering calculations. The name MATLAB stands for Matrix Laboratory, because the system was designed to make matrix computations particularly easy. A matrix is an array of numbers organized in m rows and n columns. An example is the following $m\times n=2\times 3$

array:

$A=\begin{array}{cccccc}\hfill & & \hfill \hfill & \hfill \hfill & \hfill \hfill & \\ \hfill & (& \hfill 1\hfill & \hfill 3\hfill & \hfill 5\hfill & )\\ \hfill & \hfill 2\hfill & \hfill 4\hfill & \hfill 6\hfill \\ \hfill \end{array}$

Any one of the elements in a matrix can be plucked out by using the row and column indices that identify its location. The elements in this example are plucked out as follows: $A(1,1)=1$

, $A(1,2)=3$

, $A(1,3)=5$

, $A(2,1)=2$

, $A(2,2)=4$

, $A(2,3)=6$

. The first index identifies the row number counted from top to bottom; the second index is the column number counted from left to right. This is the convention used in MATLAB to locate information in an array. A computer is useful because it can do numerous computations quickly, so operating on large numerical data sets listed in tables as arrays or matrices of rows and columns is quite efficient.

This book assumes that you have never used a computer before to do the sort of scientific calculations that MATLAB handles, but are able to find your way around a computer keyboard and know your operating system (e.g., Windows, UNIX or MAC-OS). The only other computer-related skill you will need is some very basic text editing.

One of the many things you will like about MATLAB (and that distinguishes it from many other computer programming systems, such as C++ and Java) is that you can use it interactively. This means you type some commands at the special MATLAB prompt and get results immediately. The problems solved in this way can be very simple, like finding a square root, or very complicated, like finding the solution to a system of differential equations. For many technical problems, you enter only one or two commands—MATLAB does most of the work for you.

There are three essential requirements for successful MATLAB applications:

■ You must learn the exact rules for writing MATLAB statements and using MATLAB utilities.

■ You must know the mathematics associated with the problem you want to solve.

■ You must develop a logical plan of attack—the algorithm—for solving a particular problem.

This chapter is devoted mainly to the first requirement: learning some basic MATLAB rules. Computer programming is a precise science (some would also say an art); you have to enter statements in precisely the right way. There is a saying among computer programmers: Garbage in, garbage out. It means that if you give MATLAB a gar...