Getting Started with MATLAB 5, A Quick Introduction for Scientists and Engineers [Textbook Binding]

Rudra Pratap (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195129474 | ISBN-13: 978-0195129472 | Publication Date: September 1998 | Edition: 2

MATLAB, a software package for high-performance numerical computation and visualization, is one of the most widely used tools for science and engineering applications. Its broad appeal lies in its interactive environment with hundreds of built-in functions for technical computation, graphics, and animation. It also provides easy extensibility with its own high-level programming language.
Getting Started with MATLAB 5: A Quick Introduction for Scientists and Engineers gets students started in MATLAB quickly and easily, in a few short hours. Chapters one and two provide a thorough introduction to the basics and five self-guided lessons. Remaining chapters cover useful and interesting elementary, advanced, and special MATLAB functions.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Very good text for beginning MATLAB users."--Theresa Sadeghi, Binghamton University

"Good approach with template illustrations that students should easily be able to adapt for most undergraduate courses. Efficient organization permits quick learning, and the book is comprehensive and reader-friendly, so it can be a useful non-encyclopedic reference." --James F. Hurley, University of Connecticut

About the Author

Rudra Pratap is at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

Product Details

• Textbook Binding: 230 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 2 edition (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195129474
• ISBN-13: 978-0195129472
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,402,614 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Only if you "fear" Matlab, May 14, 2000

By 

Gadgester "No Time, No Money" (Mother Earth) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Getting Started with MATLAB 5, A Quick Introduction for Scientists and Engineers (Textbook Binding)

We all know the awesome power of Matlab, and if this powerintimidates you and you have never used Matlab (or Gauss, for thatmatter) before, you will get a taste of what Matlab is like and how it works in this book, which is written specifically for beginners.

But frankly, you'd get just as much -- and more -- information from the Matlab User's Guide, which comes ()with the software.() It unfortunately does not go beyond the most basic functions of Matlab, and at the end you will still be left wondering what Matlab really can do -- and what it can do *for you*.

Case in point: the discussion on functions (something that always intimidates me when I learn a new language/package) starts out easy, and suddenly becomes confusing, leaving the reader yearning for more information and more examples. The lack of good examples is another problem with this slim ()volume.

A good introductory book should be like DiIorio's "SAS Applications Programming": easy enough to NOT intimidate the beginner, yet deep and comprehensive enough to enable the reader to get real work done -- and to encourage the reader to learn more advanced topics. (After all, we use stats software like Matlab to get real work done, not just to impress our girlfriends.) While this book may seem "friendly" at the start, its total lack of depth unfortunately can make one feel even more intimidated about Matlab.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars excellent beginner/inermediate book on MATLAB, June 10, 1999

By 

Frank Regan([e-mail] (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Getting Started with MATLAB 5, A Quick Introduction for Scientists and Engineers (Textbook Binding)

This is the best introduction to MATLAB that I have found. It is better other starter books of twice the number of pages. The treatment of the graphic power of MATLAB is covered well beyong the simple XY graphs. Dr. Etter's books on MATLAB are the best pure introduction to MATLAB especially for the undergraduate mechanical/electrical engineering students. Dr. Pratap's book unlike Etter's book is not primarily concerned with engineering applications. For the engineer confortable in their own discipline, this is the best starter book. The access to the integration algorithms and how to write the associated function files is covered better and more suscintly than any other book I have seen introductory or otherwise. Highly recommend for any academic or professional setting where MATLAB is the weapon of choice.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As an introduction to Matlab, this book was great, April 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Getting Started with MATLAB 5, A Quick Introduction for Scientists and Engineers (Textbook Binding)

I found the text to be very informative. The index was exceedingly useful. As a student who was thrusted into learning Matlab without any formal instruction, I found this text to be a "grade-saver." This text has excellent figures. An explanation next to various lines in the sample programs was an exceptional feature. I recommend this text to any student or Novice who, on short notice, must have a working knowledge of Matlab.