Numerical Analysis using Matlab and Spreadsheets ) w5 |; Z. e7 y A: CThis book is written primarily for students/readers who have a good background of high-school. Y$ `* V- p+ \, {
algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and the fundamentals of differential and integral calculus.* A: n) g9 Q( J3 r
prior knowledge of differential equations is desirable but not necessary; this topic is reviewed in $ d- Z1 [8 a% h" u5 h2 v- WChapter 5. 0 U' j( a% }$ T; b" ?2 K' {" XOne can use Fortran, Pascal, C, or Visual Basic or even a spreadsheet to solve a difficult problem.5 t9 R- @7 b, U. q/ R: K
It is the opinion of this author that the best applications programs for solving engineering$ R4 C. a; f, f3 I& J5 Z* I
problems are 1) MATLAB which is capable of performing advanced mathematical and1 u1 @. A9 U/ C- ]' Z. q; V! U
engineering computations, and 2) the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet since the versatility offered by8 @6 `* v, q) [ C6 y' Y
spreadsheets have revolutionized the personal computer industry. We will assume that the reader % ]# ?8 |( A3 @: dhas no prior knowledge of MATLAB and limited familiarity with Excel.