This book is intended for anyone trying to learn the fundamentals of computer programming. The chapters lead the reader through the various steps required for writing a program, introducing the MATLABr® constructs in the process. MATLABr® is used to teach programming because it has a simple programming environment. It has a low initial overhead which allows the novice programmer to begin programming immediately and allows the users to easily debug their programs. This is especially useful for people who have a “mental block” about computers. Although MATLABr® is a high-level language and interactive environment that enables the user to perform computationally intensive tasks faster than with traditional programming languages such as C, C++, and Fortran, the author shows that it can also be used as a programming learning tool for novices. There are a number of exercises at the end of each chapter which should help users become comfortable with the language.

Programming for Electrical Engineers: MATLAB and Spice introduces beginning engineering students to programming in Matlab and Spice through engaged, problem-based learning and dedicated electrical and computer engineering content. The book draws its problems and examples specifically from electrical and computer engineering, covering such topics as circuit analysis, signal processing, and filter design. It teaches relevant computational techniques in the context of solving common problems in electrical and computer engineering, including mesh and nodal analysis, Fourier transforms, and phasor analysis. Programming for Electrical Engineers: MATLAB and Spice is unique among MATLAB textbooks for its dual focus on introductory-level learning and discipline-specific content in electrical and computer engineering. No other textbook on the market currently targets this audience with the same attention to discipline-specific content and engaged learning practices. Although it is primarily an introduction to programming in MATLAB, the book also has a chapter on circuit simulation using Spice, and it includes materials required by ABET Accreditation reviews, such as information on ethics, professional development, and lifelong learning. - Discipline-specific: Introduces Electrical and Computer Engineering-specific topics, such as phasor analysis and complex exponentials, that are not covered in generic engineering Matlab texts - Accessible: Pedagogically appropriate for freshmen and sophomores with little or no prior programming experience - Scaffolded content: Addresses both script and functions but emphasizes the use of functions since scripts with non-scoped variables are less-commonly encountered after introductory courses - Problem-centric: Introduces MATLAB commands as needed to solve progressively more complex EE/ECE-specific problems, and includes over 100 embedded, in-chapter questions to check comprehension in stages and support active learning exercises in the classroom - Enrichment callouts: "Pro Tip" callouts cover common ABET topics, such as ethics and professional development, and "Digging Deeper" callouts provide optional, more detailed material for interested students

This book is intended for anyone trying to learn the fundamentals of computer programming. The chapters lead the reader through the various steps required for writing a program, introducing the MATLABr(R) constructs in the process. MATLABr(R) is used to teach programming because it has a simple programming environment. It has a low initial overhead which allows the novice programmer to begin programming immediately and allows the users to easily debug their programs. This is especially useful for people who have a "mental block" about computers. Although MATLABr(R) is a high-level language and interactive environment that enables the user to perform computationally intensive tasks faster than with traditional programming languages such as C, C++, and Fortran, the author shows that it can also be used as a programming learning tool for novices. There are a number of exercises at the end of each chapter which should help users become comfortable with the language.

This book combines the teaching of the MATLAB programming language with the presentation and development of carefully selected electrical and computer engineering (ECE) fundamentals. This is what distinguishes it from other books concerned with MATLAB: it is directed specifically to ECE concerns. Students will see, quite explicitly, how and why MATLAB is well suited to solve practical ECE problems. This book is intended primarily for the freshman or sophomore ECE major who has no programming experience, no background in EE or CE, and is required to learn MATLAB programming. It can be used for a course about MATLAB or an introduction to electrical and computer engineering, where learning MATLAB programming is strongly emphasized. A first course in calculus, usually taken concurrently, is essential. The distinguishing feature of this book is that about 15% of this MATLAB book develops ECE fundamentals gradually, from very basic principles. Because these fundamentals are interwoven throughout, MATLAB can be applied to solve relevant, practical problems. The plentiful, in-depth example problems to which MATLAB is applied were carefully chosen so that results obtained with MATLAB also provide insights about the fundamentals. With this "feedback approach" to learning MATLAB, ECE students also gain a head start in learning some core subjects in the EE and CE curricula. There are nearly 200 examples and over 80 programs that demonstrate how solutions of practical problems can be obtained with MATLAB. After using this book, the ECE student will be well prepared to apply MATLAB in all coursework that is commonly included in EE and CE curricula.

MATLAB is a popular program. A MATLAB website states ¿Over 1,000,000 engineers and scientists¿.use MATLAB and Simulink.¿ Monster.com has hundreds of advertisements for jobs requiring MATLAB. The first purpose of this book is to quickly teach an electrical engineer or technologist how to use MATLAB. The reader learns by example. Complete keystroke-to-keystroke details are provided for problem solution and documentation. Most of this book¿s examples demonstrate MATLAB¿s abilities as a stand-alone programming language for performing numeric electrical computations. Also, two MathWorks add-on programs are demonstrated, the Optimization Toolbox, and Simulink. The second purpose of this book is to demonstrate MATLAB solutions of practical electrical problems. The simplest and most basic uses of MATLAB are in the first examples. Later examples demonstrate more complex capabilities. The reader could use the examples¿ solutions as starting models for his own programs. It is assumed that the reader has an analytical electrical background of the sort that would be gained in a university electrical engineering or electrical engineering technology program. MATLAB is available in a free 30 day Demonstration version. Its key features can be learned in 30 days.

To learn to program is to be initiated into an entirely new way of thinking about engineering, mathematics, and the world in general. Computation is integral to all modern engineering disciplines, so the better you are at programming, the better you will be in your chosen field. The author departs radically from the typical presentation by teaching concepts and techniques in a rigorous manner rather than listing how to use libraries and functions. He presents pointers in the very first chapter as part of the development of a computational model that facilitates an ab initio presentation of subjects such as function calls, call-by-reference, arrays, the stack, and the heap. The model also allows students to practice the essential skill of memory manipulation throughout the entire course rather than just at the end. As a result, this textbook goes further than is typical for a one-semester course -- abstract data types and linked lists, for example, are covered in depth. The computational model will also serve students in their adventures with programming beyond the course: instead of falling back on rules, they can think through the model to decide how a new programming concept fits with what they already know. The book is appropriate for undergraduate students of engineering and computer science, and graduate students of other disciplines. It contains many exercises integrated into the main text, and the author has made the source code available online.