MATLAB Guide [Paperback]

Desmond J. Higham (Author), Nicholas J. Higham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0898715164 | ISBN-13: 978-0898715163 | Edition: 2

Beginners will find a concise introduction to the most popular and important features of MATLAB and the Symbolic Math Toolbox, with instructive examples. Existing MATLAB users however should be interested by explanations of new MATLAB features and coverage of advanced topics such as Handle Graphics, structures and cell arrays, sparse matrices, profiling, and vectorization. The book describes MATLAB 6, but can also be used with earlier versions. The authors explain many revised and added features of MATLAB, including LAPACK-based matrix computations and the latest differential equation solvers, and also reveal many "hidden" features. No prior knowledge is assumed, but the reader is expected to be familiar with the basics of programming. This guide should be of particular use to researchers and practitioners, as well as undergraduate and graduate students in mathematics, statistics, engineering and computer science.

Editorial Reviews

Review

" MATLAB Guide gives an excellent overview of the possibilities of MATLAB. Everything is clearly explained and illustrated by examples." -- --Guido De Roeck, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.

"...much better than the MATLAB User's Guide for getting started and for looking for help or tricks." -- --Salim Meddahi, Universidad de Oviedo, Spain.

"I think this book is the best reference I own. The students in my undergraduate MATLAB course find it essential." -- --Joao B. R. do Val, Campinas State University (CAMPINAS).

Book Description

MATLAB is an interactive system for numerical computation that is widely used for teaching and research in industry and academia. This second edition of MATLAB Guide revises and updates the first, whilst remaining a lively, concise introduction to the important features of MATLAB 7 and the Symbolic Math Toolbox. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 283 pages
• Publisher: Soc for Industrial & Applied Math; 2 edition (January 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898715164
• ISBN-13: 978-0898715163
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,073,401 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Triple C - concise, comprehensive, captivating, November 28, 2002

By 

Harald Hentschke (Tuebingen Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: MATLAB Guide (Paperback)

Matlab Guide is a clearly written, well structured and quite comprehensive account of the capabilities of Matlab. In each chapter, the material explained swiftly progresses from the simple to the more complex, making this book a concise source of information and an excellent reference for the intermediate to advanced Matlab user. The focus is on mathematical topics; the pieces of example code are a nice mixture of playful toys and serious applications. Also, the book contains important hints concerning efficient programming, it has a very agreeable layout, and the citations at the end of each chapter do their job in keeping the reader's mood at a high level. Clearly, absolute beginners may have a hard time working their way through it, and the coverage of isolated topics, like file input/output, is a little meager. However, this is only a minor point. All in all, so far having used matlab primarily for data analysis (electrophysiology) I very much enjoyed and benfited from a fresh look at it from a different perspective.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Book, Well Structured, November 3, 2000

By 

Philip Clarke (Cambridge, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Matlab Guide (Hardcover)

Following review posted on amazon.co.uk

I liked this book. I spend a good proportion of my working life talking about MATLAB and it is refreshing to find a text which focuses upon what the user wants to do and sees MATLAB as being a means to an end, rather than a reproduction of the reference manual. The book reads well and has a clear organisation. Having a close relationship with MATLAB means I am often asked about books on the subject, and this is one I would be very happy to recommend.

Dr Philip Clarke, The MathWorks Ltd.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A serious book for all users of MATLAB, October 1, 2002

By 

Dr Craig Lucas - See all my reviews

This review is from: MATLAB Guide (Paperback)

This is a book that doesn't ignore that MATLAB is a tool for mathematicians, but at the same doesn't alienate the non-specialist.

Starting with a basic tutorial and continuing with useful short cuts and introductions to script files, functions and graphics this book gives the reader an immediate working knowledge of the basic functions and data structures of MATLAB.

Later chapters address linear algebra (with treatment of eigenvalue problems, linear systems and matrix decompositions) and numerical methods (for differential equations and other problems); both with enough mathematical background and each topic can be accessed independently.

The book finishes with important topics such as optimizing functions, input and output, use of the Symbolic Toolbox and a final chapter with more tricks and tips.

You are left convinced that the authors are extensive users and admirers of this software, and through this book the reader can become the same.