Numerical Analysis using Matlab and Spreadsheets5 W8 l) R/ H% o! @4 r1 g
This book is written primarily for students/readers who have a good background of high-school: I1 K' o7 A w9 R' s) a
algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and the fundamentals of differential and integral calculus.* A ) |. g, j' \5 m4 y* S: c& a+ Yprior knowledge of differential equations is desirable but not necessary; this topic is reviewed in$ I9 u+ V9 U/ Z' d* M+ U
Chapter 5." \) o* i. g: |" }6 `: q
One can use Fortran, Pascal, C, or Visual Basic or even a spreadsheet to solve a difficult problem. % E3 ~5 B: w& j$ bIt is the opinion of this author that the best applications programs for solving engineering [# V: [ n a/ Rproblems are 1) MATLAB which is capable of performing advanced mathematical and l. G$ y0 H2 ^
engineering computations, and 2) the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet since the versatility offered by ' I2 h& A1 V9 n9 G1 j4 B4 J/ _spreadsheets have revolutionized the personal computer industry. We will assume that the reader" i. Q% P: K o9 d- f. @/ _
has no prior knowledge of MATLAB and limited familiarity with Excel.