Numerical Analysis using Matlab and Spreadsheets1 ~% h) U k# o& a/ Y) s* s
This book is written primarily for students/readers who have a good background of high-school" K+ {* N. D1 _) \/ ?' w
algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and the fundamentals of differential and integral calculus.* A ! G2 J) @4 N, U) D+ m9 zprior knowledge of differential equations is desirable but not necessary; this topic is reviewed in - i) W2 C/ A: i* e- oChapter 5.# U$ s3 a6 R; S* n! l
One can use Fortran, Pascal, C, or Visual Basic or even a spreadsheet to solve a difficult problem., i) T2 i0 _" a! [' q2 [4 l% D$ M
It is the opinion of this author that the best applications programs for solving engineering: x# Q1 | F0 ^- t3 [5 L& m0 L
problems are 1) MATLAB which is capable of performing advanced mathematical and ! W) y7 M7 j nengineering computations, and 2) the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet since the versatility offered by% i5 W# E9 C+ i* l( T
spreadsheets have revolutionized the personal computer industry. We will assume that the reader 7 G2 g* @9 e- i5 M: ghas no prior knowledge of MATLAB and limited familiarity with Excel.