Top-down program design; breaking problems into functions and
identifying needed control structures; declare and employ basic data
types particularly numbers, strings, arrays and symbolic variables;
create and use of functions. The goal is to provide students with the
ability to solve many common engineering problems with the help of a
computational tool like Matlab and to teach students good practices
in writing computer programs. Due to its easy-to-use interface, Matlab
is used instead of a standard programming language like Fortran or
C++.
Frequently, I will cover material in lectures that is not given in the
book; you are responsible for both. (Feel free to ask questions in
class about reading assignments.) Try to stay a little ahead on the
reading assignments. You are responsible for all assignments and
announcements made in class, even if you cannot attend. You should
probably get to know someone whose notes you can copy.