Numerical Analysis using Matlab and Spreadsheets7 E, Y; S8 ?* Y; e. A
This book is written primarily for students/readers who have a good background of high-school & C5 u" j2 a/ w3 |algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and the fundamentals of differential and integral calculus.* A9 x. t, L2 P n# j2 t, C- A
prior knowledge of differential equations is desirable but not necessary; this topic is reviewed in1 |0 R) n! T0 j+ h
Chapter 5./ Z9 \2 |; k" E3 \) Y4 O& T
One can use Fortran, Pascal, C, or Visual Basic or even a spreadsheet to solve a difficult problem.( G) n) z+ V" p% J6 F( N2 R8 \5 ?* x
It is the opinion of this author that the best applications programs for solving engineering$ P7 N I x5 @1 v
problems are 1) MATLAB which is capable of performing advanced mathematical and9 |- Z, b/ f) P0 A7 O$ _% z7 H
engineering computations, and 2) the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet since the versatility offered by * N$ ]0 v0 b5 g- a/ D1 Z" V" cspreadsheets have revolutionized the personal computer industry. We will assume that the reader5 M; N; N! Y; @8 `* j, O
has no prior knowledge of MATLAB and limited familiarity with Excel.