This textbook is ideal for MATLAB/Introduction to Programming courses in both Engineering and Computer Science departments. Engineering Computation with MATLAB introduces the power of computing to engineering students who have no programming experience. The book places the fundamental tenets of computer programming into the context of MATLAB, employing hands-on exercises, examples from the engineering industry, and a variety of core tools to increase programming proficiency and capability. With this knowledge, students are prepared to adapt learned concepts to other programming languages.

Table of Contents:
Table of Contents 1.1 Background 1.2 History of Computer Architectures 1.2.1 Babbage’s Difference Engine 1.2.2 Colossus 1.2.3 The von Neumann Architecture 1.3 Computing Systems Today 1.3.1 Computer Hardware 1.3.2 Computer Memory 1.3.3 Computer Software 1.3.4 Running a Computer Program 1.4 Running an Interpreted Program 1.5 Problem Solving 2.1 Programming Language Background 2.1.1 Abstraction 2.1.2 Algorithms 2.1.3 Programming Paradigms 2.2 Basic Data Manipulation 2.2.1 Starting and Stopping Matlab 2.2.2 Assigning Values to Variables 2.2.3 Data Typing 2.2.4 Classes and Objects 2.3 the Matlab User Interface 2.3.1 the Interactions Window 2.3.2 the Command History 2.3.3 the Variables Window 2.3.4 the Files Window 2.3.5 Editor Windows 2.3.6 Figure Windows 2.4 Scripts 2.4.1 Text Files 2.4.2 Creating Scripts 2.4.3 The Current Directory 2.4.4 Running Scripts 2.4.5 Punctuating Scripts 2.4.6 Debugging Scripts 2.5 Engineering Example— Spacecraft Launch 3.1 Concept: Using Built-in Functions 3.2 Concept: Data Collections 3.2.1 Data Abstraction 3.2.2 Homogeneous Collection 3.3 Vectors 3.3.1 Creating a Vector 3.3.2 Size of a Vector 3.3.3 Indexing a Vector 3.3.4 Shortening a Vector 3.3.5 Operating on Vectors 3.4 Engineering Example—Forces and Moments 3.5 Arrays 3.5.1 Properties of an Array 3.5.2 Creating an Array 3.5.3 Accessing Elements of an Array 3.5.4 Removing Elements of an Array 3.5.5 Operating on Arrays 3.6 Engineering Example—Computing Soil Volume 4.1 Concept: Code Blocks 4.2 Conditional Execution in General 4.3 if Statements 4.3.1 General Template 4.3.2 Matlab Implementation 4.3.3 Important Ideas 4.4 switch Statements 4.4.1 General Template 4.4.2 Matlab Implementation 4.5 Iteration in General 4.6 for Loops 4.6.1 General for Loop Template 4.6.2 Matlab Implementation 4.6.3 Indexing Implementation 4.6.4 Breaking a for Loop 4.7 while Loops 4.7.1 General while Template 4.7.2 Matlab while Loop Implementation 4.7.3 Loop-and-a-Half Implementation 4.7.4 Breaking a while Loop 4.8 Engineering Example—Computing Liquid Levels 5.1 Concepts: Abstraction and Encapsulation 5.2 Black Box View of a Function 5.3 Matlab Implementation 5.3.1 General Template 5.3.2 Function Definition 5.3.3 Storing and Using Functions 5.3.4 Calling Functions 5.3.5 Returning Multiple Results 5.3.6 Auxiliary Local Functions 5.3.7 Encapsulation in Matlab Functions 5.3.8 Global Variables 5.4 Engineering Example—Measuring a Solid Object 6.1 Character String Concepts: Mapping and Casting 6.2 Matlab Implementation 6.2.1 Slicing and Concatenating Strings 6.2.2 Arithmetic and Logical Operations 6.2.3 Useful Functions 6.3 Format Conversion Functions 6.3.1 Conversion from Numbers to Strings 6.3.2 Conversion from Strings to Numbers 6.4 Character String Operations 6.4.1 Simple Data Output: The disp(...) Function 6.4.2 Complex Output 6.4.3 Comparing Strings 6.5 Arrays of Strings 6.6 Engineering Example— Encryption 7.1 Concept: Collecting Dissimilar Objects 7.2 Cell Arrays 7.2.1 Creating Cell Arrays 7.2.2 Accessing Cell Arrays 7.2.3 Using Cell Arrays 7.2.4 Processing Cell Arrays 7.3 Structures 7.3.1 Constructing and Accessing One Structure 7.3.2 Constructor Functions 7.4 Structure Arrays 7.4.1 Constructing Cell Arrays 7.4.2 Accessing Structure Elements 7.4.3 Manipulating Structures 7.5 Engineering Example—Assembling a Structure 8.1 Concept: Serial Input and Output (I/O) 8.2 Workspace I/O 8.3 High-level I/O Functions 8.3.1 Exploration 8.3.2 Spreadsheets 8.3.3 Delimited Text Files 8.4 Low-level File I/O 8.4.1 Opening and Closing Files 8.4.2 Reading Text Files 8.4.3 Examples of Readi