Numerical Analysis using Matlab and Spreadsheets ' {0 G, s6 B! p- |- HThis book is written primarily for students/readers who have a good background of high-school4 B. y8 M& B7 u+ P g% E# k" h
algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and the fundamentals of differential and integral calculus.* A4 y R: _! ~/ p
prior knowledge of differential equations is desirable but not necessary; this topic is reviewed in2 N4 N8 G0 i% B3 o3 B1 t& d
Chapter 5. + q& V# L8 E( f$ QOne can use Fortran, Pascal, C, or Visual Basic or even a spreadsheet to solve a difficult problem.% V7 }& `' L6 X6 I1 m4 Q+ o; L9 M4 a
It is the opinion of this author that the best applications programs for solving engineering9 X2 U0 K1 o& v+ g9 C# k( }
problems are 1) MATLAB which is capable of performing advanced mathematical and + P/ e8 T9 E0 vengineering computations, and 2) the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet since the versatility offered by + q3 O& y2 o+ x8 A" d' K6 ospreadsheets have revolutionized the personal computer industry. We will assume that the reader) @% i i/ z9 x. |: c8 z5 ?
has no prior knowledge of MATLAB and limited familiarity with Excel.