Numerical Analysis using Matlab and Spreadsheets 9 Y1 H( m5 o, gThis book is written primarily for students/readers who have a good background of high-school , G/ F2 c1 ^' i5 }$ m% V$ Balgebra, geometry, trigonometry, and the fundamentals of differential and integral calculus.* A2 J, O8 |/ N# [# q1 h
prior knowledge of differential equations is desirable but not necessary; this topic is reviewed in # v( B6 G- {- V$ y8 U% SChapter 5. / E" |9 @* x$ A# pOne can use Fortran, Pascal, C, or Visual Basic or even a spreadsheet to solve a difficult problem. % Y+ c/ P) D, Z1 U) @9 HIt is the opinion of this author that the best applications programs for solving engineering. V9 |6 N! L1 P- J& \0 @" D0 Y: A
problems are 1) MATLAB which is capable of performing advanced mathematical and ' u* b) w8 V+ cengineering computations, and 2) the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet since the versatility offered by9 t( i, x& `, ?) S+ g7 ~
spreadsheets have revolutionized the personal computer industry. We will assume that the reader 5 e, d5 |7 `! l7 M% Xhas no prior knowledge of MATLAB and limited familiarity with Excel.