CENG 2005
Introduction to Programming with MATLAB

Course Outline

These web pages provide a reference source to complement the CAPE lectures - "An Introduction to Numeric Computer Programming using MATLAB". Links are provided for each of the major headings and for relevant exercises. You should do the exercises before attempting the course work.

• What is a program?

  • Problem definition: steps for solving problem
  • Problem -> Algorithm: formal and precise specification of steps
  • Algorithm -> Program: encoding the steps into a computer language (such as MATLAB)

• The MATLAB environment

  • Interactive input and getting HELP
  • Writing programs using m files

  Try the first exercise listed below.

• An introduction to MATLAB programming

  • Variables and numbers
  • Expression: Calculations with variables
  • Simple Programs: Order of commands and comments

  Try the second exercise listed below.

• Multidimensional data structures

  • Arrays, vectors and matrices
  • Simple tables
  • Mathematical operators (revisited)

  Try the exercise for arrays, as listed below.

• User Procedures

  • Functions
  • Local and global variables

  Try the flow-sheeting exercise which requires the use of procedures.

• Program control

  • IF statements
  • Program Loops: FOR and WHILE statements

  Try the exercise on Program loops listed below. Also give the exercise on a Taylor series approximation to the Sine function a try.

• Input/Output

  • Output to the screen
  • Input from the keyboard
  • Load and saving data

For your own computers

For those of you that may have a computer at home or elsewhere, there is a system, known as Octave, written by John W. Eaton (Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Wisconsin) and others, which is similar to Matlab. For the material covered in this course, Octave is a perfect replacement for Matlab.

Exercises

The following are a set of exercises which you should attempt, in order, to gain experience with the different aspects of Matlab. If you are able to do all these exercises, the hand-in project should pose little difficulty!

1. PC Lab Introduction
2. Estimating distance to horizon.
3. Working with Arrays
4. Simple Flow-sheet Example.
5. Program loop exercise.
6. Sine function approximation