Numerical Analysis using Matlab and Spreadsheets + v- Q6 R# q% P* S+ I* y7 F b6 nThis book is written primarily for students/readers who have a good background of high-school . ^2 v" B, k ]: ^ ?algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and the fundamentals of differential and integral calculus.* A+ y$ A4 k* ^7 Z$ c7 ~) H
prior knowledge of differential equations is desirable but not necessary; this topic is reviewed in, R2 Q; }6 M/ @9 _" h- \
Chapter 5. % |5 w! ~& Q# w1 B. I; v" FOne can use Fortran, Pascal, C, or Visual Basic or even a spreadsheet to solve a difficult problem.3 u! M8 |6 l% d- k( h1 c& U. a
It is the opinion of this author that the best applications programs for solving engineering + ?% {5 _. P% q/ q' uproblems are 1) MATLAB which is capable of performing advanced mathematical and" M: W! H* p- V% X0 S
engineering computations, and 2) the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet since the versatility offered by8 A7 A+ V+ _3 }* v/ Z
spreadsheets have revolutionized the personal computer industry. We will assume that the reader5 q9 m0 s; i7 E, m9 W* S+ C6 P" B
has no prior knowledge of MATLAB and limited familiarity with Excel.