A sum of mathematics professors (U. of Maryland-College Park) present a tutorial to the widely used mathematical and graphing software for complete novices and a reference to the more advanced features for occasional users. They say it can be used for self-study, especially while taking or teaching a course or working on a project that requires it. They use MATLAB 6, but users of version 5 will find almost everything relevant. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Here is a short, focused introduction to MATLAB, a comprehensive software system for mathematics and technical computing that should be useful to both beginning and experienced users. It contains concise explanations of essential MATLAB commands, as well as easily understood instructions for using MATLAB's programming features, graphical capabilities, and desktop interface. It also includes an introduction to SIMULINK, a companion to MATLAB for system simulation. Written for MATLAB 6, this book can also be used with earlier (and later) versions of MATLAB. Chapters contain worked-out examples of applications of MATLAB to interesting problems in mathematics, engineering, economics, and physics. In addition, it contains explicit instructions for using MATLAB's Microsoft Word interface to produce polished, integrated, interactive documents for reports, presentations, or on-line publishing. This book explains everything you need to know to begin using MATLAB. Intermediate and advanced users will find useful information here, especially if they are making the switch to MATLAB 6 from an earlier version.
This book is a short, focused introduction to MATLAB and should be useful to both beginning and experienced users.