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Matlab: A Practical Introduction to Programming and Problem Solving |  | Author: Stormy Attaway
Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann
Category: Book
List Price: $44.95
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as of 7/30/2010 13:33 CDT details
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Rating:  13 reviews
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Pages: 480
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 7.5 x 1
ISBN: 0750687622
Dewey Decimal Number: 005
EAN: 9780750687621
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Product Description
Assuming no knowledge of programming, this book presents both programming concepts and MATLAB's built-in functions, providing a perfect platform for exploiting MATLAB's extensive capabilities for tackling engineering problems. It starts with programming concepts such as variables, assignments, input/output, and selection statements, moves onto loops and then solves problems using both the 'programming concept' and the 'power of MATLAB' side-by-side. In-depth coverage is given to input/output, a topic that is fundamental to many engineering applications.
* Presents programming concepts and MATLAB built-in functions side-by-side, giving students the ability to program efficiently and exploit the power of MATLAB to solve problems.
* In depth coverage of file input/output, a topic essential for many engineering applications
* Systematic, step-by-step approach, building on concepts throughout the book, facilitating easier learning
* Sections on 'common pitfalls' and 'programming guidelines' direct students towards best practice
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 13
 The MATLAB textbook to have February 14, 2009
E. Tan
43 out of 44 found this review helpful
I was a student at Boston University (BU) College of Engineering (EE). I felt the pain of having to learn and pick up MATLAB by myself because most programming classes focus on the popular languages (C/C++ and Java), which are in many ways different from MATLAB. MATLAB is a very useful computational tool, but many schools have failed in getting students to pick up MATLAB, mostly because MATLAB is used sporadically on certain courses and there wasn't really a textbook that catered toward first-time MATLAB users.
I have used and looked at over a dozen MATLAB textbooks throughout my undergrad study, and I can confidently say this is by far the best one for anyone to pick up MATLAB from scratch. More importantly, this is the only MATLAB textbook that I have come across that teaches the concept of programming so readers can pick up the basics and start writing their own scripts. Many MATLAB textbooks only teach how to use certain functions/features but fail terribly to impart the fundamentals of MATLAB - something that students really need to know so they can use MATLAB efficiently for their homework/projects/etc.
I was a tutor/teaching assistant for some engineering courses and headed a few MATLAB workshops for BU Students while in college. I wish this book were published earlier - it would have made many students' lives a lot easier.
Perfect for non-programmers in science, math, & engineering February 23, 2009
sandrift (Boulder, CO)
25 out of 25 found this review helpful
I have a Ph.D. in geology and have used several flavors of command-line-based software for the last 15 years, but have never taken a course in programming. As such, I have developed limited skills at writing scripts and basic programs, and have a conceptual idea of how programming works, but usually rely on copying/modifying existing code snippets to get what I want. Documentation for such software commonly assumes the reader is a programmer, which sometimes poses problems if you don't understand certain terminology, and for figuring out how to really use various functions and/or correctly string them together in a program to accomplish a task. When I recently wanted to adopt some code written by a colleague, I realized I would have to learn to use MATLAB. Data manipulation in MATLAB is "similar to but different from" the other software I've used, and although I can parrot example commands, I really wanted to understand what I was doing. I found Attaway's "MATLAB: A Practical Introduction to Programming and Problem Solving", and based in large part on the customer review by E. Tan, I purchased it, and have not regretted the decision.
Attaway's Preface clearly explains that the "purpose of this book is to teach basic programming concepts and skills needed for basic problem solving, all using MATLAB as the vehicle." This book is not primarily aimed at computer science types or accomplished programmers who need to use MATLAB (although it might help make their MATLAB-specific code more efficient) - it's more oriented toward people who need to use MATLAB, but do not already know how to program.
Throughout the book, important terms are typeset in bold and clearly defined. The first section of the book covers basic programming concepts and MATLAB functions, and the second section covers the application of these concepts and functions to things like plotting, image processing, and math. More specifically, the first chapter introduces basic concepts such as what are variables, assignment statements, expressions, characters (text), and vectors and matrices. Subsequent chapters describe programming in MATLAB, starting with simple things like reading and writing files and progressively introducing more complicated concepts (if-else statements, for and while loops, debugging techniques, working with strings (text), etc.). So as you go, you're learning general programming concepts that will translate to other languages, and you're also familiarizing yourself with MATLAB specifically at the same time. There also are chapters on plotting, solving systems of linear algebraic equations, basic statistics, searching and sorting data, and advanced math (curve fitting, complex numbers, and calculus).
The text is straightforward and easy to read, with abundant examples. Sidebars offer quick opportunities to practice your understanding of each concept before moving on to the next one. The end of each chapter contains exercises that allow you to apply what you've learned to some practical sample problems, such as calculating wind chill factor. The author explains some of the differences in terminology between MATLAB and other languages, which will help people more easily apply the programming knowledge learned in this book to other languages (example: a vector in MATLAB is equivalent to what is called a one-dimensional array in other languages). User-defined functions (programs) are gradually described, starting with simple cases (calculating single values) and leading to more complex cases (functions that do tasks that do not return values, or return more than one value).
The physical presentation of the book is very nice - the pages are printed in color on semi-glossy paper, and there is ample room in the margins for notes. I used this margin space to note a case where the MATLAB function in my version of the software differs slightly in name and usage from the one in the book (the author notes that this may be the case depending on the version of MATLAB you're running and the platform on which you're running it).
I'm working my way through the book on my own, and find it easy to do; I imagine it would be quite accessible to undergraduates and graduate students as a supporting text in an analytical methods course using Matlab, or as the primary text for an intro course on using MATLAB in engineering and science.
Excellent professional introduction March 6, 2009
T. Bifano (Boston, MA)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
First, a disclosure: I know the author and am a colleague at Boston University.
I used this book when it was still in draft form, to learn Matlab in support of my work as an engineering professor and as an academic researcher. I was trained in Fortran in the late 70's, and had no other significant experience in programming. Nevertheless, a recent new project required me to tackle some challenging problems involving significant matrix computation and instrument control. Matlab was the best language choice for the task, and Stormy's book was my guide. In spare time, a half hour at a time, the book led me through a painless but powerful introduction to the language. I found the examples to be flawlessly presented, and richly informative.
Since completing this book I have integrated Matlab into my teaching and my research, and am grateful to have had Stormy's clear, concise, well-paced introduction as my launchpad.
A quick and comprehensive MATLAB manual April 9, 2009
D. Boulanov (Boston)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
As a biomedical engineer, I tend to use MATLAB to run numbers and simulations fairly often. Different programming approaches are used for different tasks, and I tend to forget about some of the more quick and easy ways to accomplish those goals. This book, with its range of simple to fairly detailed examples, is a wonderful resource for doing just that - learning to use MATLAB in a quick and easy manner. It can be used as an introduction or as a quick reference to the programming language. Also, at under $50 it is extremely well priced when compared to modern scientific/academic literature, which tends to be in the $100-200 range.
I certainly recommend this book to anyone from beginner programmers to those seeking a way to best refresh their MATLAB knowledge!
Great for Learning MATLAB June 24, 2009
Matthew (Indiana, USA)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I was a reviewer for the book while it was being edited. I liked it then and the author has only improved on her original manuscript. The organization is great for people trying to learn MATLAB, starting out with the basics of MATLAB and expanding it into a full programming language. The quick questions are great for checking for understanding.
The entire book is written in small managable sections that are easily processed and understood. This book is great for new MATLAB learners.
It does have a fantastic index that would make it a valuable reference for a casual MATLAB programmer. Parts of it (primarily the early chapters) might be a little elementary for hardcore MATLAB programmers to use as a reference book, but overall the book is really strong.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 13
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