MATLAB Primer

Timothy A. Davis and Kermit Sigmon

Publisher:

Chapman & Hall/CRC

Publication Date:

2005

Number of Pages:

215

Format:

Paperback

Edition:

Price:

17.96

ISBN:

1-58488-523-8

Category:

Handbook

MAA Review
Table of Contents

[Reviewed by

Álvaro Lozano-Robledo

, on

06/26/2005

]

MATLAB Primer (7th edition) is a pocket-sized quick reference guide to the popular software package MATLAB, updated to be used with the 7th version of the software. The little book is divided in two parts. The first part consists of 21 chapters where the authors go over different topics (the basics about MATLAB and the desktop; operations with numbers and matrices; functions; control statements; M-files; graphics; polynomials; solving equations; differential equations; calling other programming languages: C, Fortran, Java). The second part of the book is a comprehensive list of commands, followed by a one-line description (the list includes over 1250 commands). Also, the book contains a helpful table of contents and index.

In the first part of the book, the different features and commands present in MATLAB v7.0 are explained in a brief and concise way, and mostly through examples, so the users/readers can try some spelled-out exercises before trying some examples of their own.

I believe that the beginners and casual users of MATLAB will find the little book very helpful as a companion when trying to run the software. However the "Primer" will probably not be useful to the expert MATLAB user, because each topic is treated quite briefly. The convenient size makes it a nice book to have around, for quick help on usage of a command or a little intro on some new topic. The long (and nicely organized) list of commands in the second part of the book is useful to the reader to find the appropriate command.

Álvaro Lozano-Robledo is H. C. Wang Assistant Professor at Cornell University.

ACCESSING MATLAB
THE MATLAB DESKTOP
Help Window
Start Button
Command Window
Workspace Window
Command History Window
Array Editor Window
Current Directory Window
MATRICES AND MATRIX OPERATIONS
Referencing Individual Entries
Matrix Operators
Matrix Division (Slash and Backslash)
Entry-Wise Operators
Relational Operators
Complex Numbers
Strings
Other Data Types
SUBMATRICES AND COLON NOTATION
Generating Vectors
Accessing Submatrices
MATLAB FUNCTIONS
Constructing Matrices
Scalar Functions
Vector Functions and Data Analysis
Matrix Functions
The linsolve Function
The find Function
CONTROL FLOW STATEMENTS
The for Loop
The while Loop
The switch Statement
The try/catch Statement
Matrix Expressions (if and while)
Infinite Loops
M-FILES
M-File Editor/Debugger Window
Script Files
Function Files
Multiple Inputs and Outputs
Variable Arguments
Comments and Documentation
MATLAB's Path
ADVANCED M-FILE FEATURES
Function Handles and Anonymous Functions
Name Resolution
Error and Warning Messages
User Input
Performance Measures
Efficient Code
CALLING C FROM MATLAB
A Simple Example
C Versus MATLAB Arrays
A Matrix Computation in C
MATLAB mx and mex Routines
Online Help for MEX Routines
Larger Examples on the Web
CALLING FORTRAN FROM MATLAB
Solving a Transposed System
A Fortran mexFunction with %val
If You Cannot Use %val
CALLING JAVA FROM MATLAB
A Simple Example
Encryption/Decryption
MATLAB's Java Class Path
Calling Your Own Java Methods
Loading a URL as a Matrix
TWO-DIMENSIONAL GRAPHICS
Planar Plots
Multiple Figures
Graph of a Function
Parametrically Defined Curves
Titles, Labels, and Text in a Graph
Control of Axes and Scaling
Multiple Plots
Line Types, Marker Types, Colors
Subplots and Specialized Plots
Graphics Hard Copy
THREE-DIMENSIONAL GRAPHS
Curve Plots
Mesh and Surface Plots
Parametrically Defined Surfaces
Volume and Vector Visualization
Color Shading and Color Profile
Perspective of View
ADVANCED GRAPHICS
Handle Graphics
Graphical User Interface
Images
SPARSE MATRIX COMPUTATIONS
Storage Modes
Generating Sparse Matrices
Computation with Sparse Matrices
Ordering Methods
Visualizing Matrices
THE SYMBOLIC MATH TOOLBOX
Symbolic Variables
Calculus
Variable Precision Arithmetic
Numeric and Symbolic Substitution
Algebraic Simplification
Two-Dimensional Graphs
Three Dimensional Surface Graphs
Three-Dimensional Curves
Symbolic Matrix Operations
Symbolic Linear Algebraic Functions
Solving Algebraic Equations
Solving Differential Equations
Further Maple Access
POLYNOMIALS, INTERPOLATION, AND INTEGRATION
Representing Polynomials
Evaluating Polynomials
Polynomial Interpolation
Numeric Integration (Quadrature)
SOLVING EQUATIONS
Symbolic Equations
Linear Systems of Equations
Polynomial Roots
Nonlinear Equations
Ordinary Differential Equations
Other Differential Equations
DISPLAYING RESULTS
CELL PUBLISHING
CODE DEVELOPMENT TOOLS
M-Lint Code Check Report
TODO/FIXME Report
Help Report
Report
Dependency Report
File Comparison Report
Profile and Coverage Report
HELP TOPICS
General Purpose Commands
Operators and Special Characters
Programming Language Constructs
Elementary Matrices and Matrix Manipulation
Elementary Math Functions
Specialized Math Functions
Matrix Functions-Numerical Linear Algebra
Data Analysis, Fourier Transforms
Interpolation and Polynomials
Function Functions and ODEs
Sparse Matrices
Annotation and Plot Editing
Two-Dimensional Graphs
Three-Dimensional Graphs
Specialized Graphs
Handle Graphics
Graphical User Interface Tools
Character Strings
Image and Scientific Data
File Input/Output
Audio and Video Support
Time and Dates
Data Types and Structures
Version Control
Creating and Debugging Code
Help Commands
Microsoft Windows Functions
Examples and Demonstrations
Preferences
Symbolic Math Toolbox
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
INDEX

Tags:

Mathematical Software