Numerical Analysis using Matlab and Spreadsheets N' Y6 O' ^: r/ s! n3 V: M
This book is written primarily for students/readers who have a good background of high-school1 N3 z4 I; r Y; w1 U
algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and the fundamentals of differential and integral calculus.* A6 g4 b* q0 P$ {1 s0 _
prior knowledge of differential equations is desirable but not necessary; this topic is reviewed in$ I8 O# G5 i! l0 Q- a6 |
Chapter 5. / G. h# g; j7 M# b. s$ t* E# SOne can use Fortran, Pascal, C, or Visual Basic or even a spreadsheet to solve a difficult problem.7 J1 A9 S$ x$ g& R8 g7 ^; I
It is the opinion of this author that the best applications programs for solving engineering / F8 K8 }- u& v5 k- Sproblems are 1) MATLAB which is capable of performing advanced mathematical and $ U2 m( H8 ~ q3 T/ J2 nengineering computations, and 2) the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet since the versatility offered by ~* L1 I: j; K( V
spreadsheets have revolutionized the personal computer industry. We will assume that the reader * b5 e9 X! Y9 l# B1 n8 g. {. ]1 k1 thas no prior knowledge of MATLAB and limited familiarity with Excel.