2 Chapter 1 About MATLAB
®
use it to write a word- processing program. For large applications, such as operating
systems or design software, C++, JAVA, or FORTRAN would be the programs of
choice. (In fact, MATLAB
®
, which is a large application program, was originally
writteninFORTRANandlaterrewritteninC,aprecursorofC++.)Usually,high-
level programs do not offer easy access to graphing— an application at which
MATLAB
®
excels. The primary area of overlap between MATLAB
®
and high- level
programs is “number crunching”—repetitive calculations or the processing of large
quantities of data. Both MATLAB
®
and high- level programs are good at processing
numbers. A “ number- crunching” program is generally easier to write in MATLAB
®
,
but usually it will execute faster in C++ or FORTRAN. The one exception to this
rule is calculations involving matrices. MATLAB
®
is optimized for matrices. Thus, if
a problem can be formulated with a matrix solution, MATLAB
®
executes substan-
tially faster than a similar program in a high- level language.
MATLAB
®
is available in both professional and student versions. The profes-
sional version is probably installed in your college or university computer labora-
tory, but you may enjoy having the student version at home. MATLAB
®
is updated
regularly; this textbook is based on MATLAB
®
8.1. If you are using earlier versions
such as MATLAB
®
6 or 7, you will notice a signicant difference in the layout of the
graphical user interface; however, the differences in coding approaches are minor.
There are substantial differences in versions that predate MATLAB
®
5.5.
The standard installation of the professional version of MATLAB
®
is capable of
solving various technical problems. Additional capability is available in the form of
function toolboxes. These toolboxes are purchased separately, and they may or may
not be available to you. You can nd a complete list of the MATLAB
®
product fam-
ily at The MathWorks web site, www.mathworks.com.
1.2 STUDENT EDITION OF MATLAB
®
The professional and student editions of MATLAB
®
are very similar. Beginning stu-
dents probably won’t be able to tell the difference. Student editions are available
for Microsoft Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems and can be purchased
from college bookstores or online from The MathWorks at www.mathworks.com.
The MathWorks packages its software in groups called releases, and MATLAB
®
8.1
is featured, along with other products, such as Simulink, in Release R2013a. New
versions are released every six months. The release number is the same for both the
student and professional editions, but the student version may lag the professional
version by several months. The student edition of R2013a includes the following
features:
• FullMATLAB
®
• Simulink,withtheabilitytobuildmodelswithupto1000blocks(theprofes-
sional version allows an unlimited number of blocks)
• SymbolicMathToolbox
• ControlSystemsToolbox
• DataAcquisitionToolbox
• InstrumentControlToolbox
• SimulinkControlDesign
• SignalProcessingToolbox
• DSPSystemToolbox
• StatisticsToolbox
• OptimizationToolbox
KEY IDEA
MATLAB
®
is optimized for
matrix calculations
KEY IDEA
MATLAB
®
is regularly
updated
