Introduction to

Programming with MATLAB

The purpose of MATLAB'S designers was to make programming easier, especially for
solving numerical problems. Many of the devices you use daily, your car, your smart
phone, have features and components that were developed with the help of MATLAB.
When you see the news about a NASA mission, you can be pretty sure that their
programmers and computer experts used MATLAB to make it happen.

The course is based on a video series developed at Vanderbilt University, named Computer
Programming with MATLAB. It is based on an electronic textbook by the same authors
which is a recommended reading for this course. You will find the book invaluable in
understanding MATLAB deeper and it will also help with the programming assignments.
The book also covers more advanced features of MATLAB such as Object Oriented
Programming and Graphical User Interfaces that this MOOC does not get into. The course
is divided into the following 8 weekly modules:

Lesson 1: Introduction to MATLAB

We will learn how to start MATLAB and will familiarize ourselves with its user interface.
We will learn how to use MATLAB as a sophisticated calculator. We will learn about
syntax and semantics. We will see ways in which MATLAB provides help. Finally, we will
learn how to create plots in MATLAB.

Lesson 2: Matrices and Operators

The basic unit with which we work in MATLAB is the matrix. We solve problems by
manipulating matrices, and operators are the primary means(medios principales) by which
we manipulate them. We will learn how to define matrices, extract parts of them and
combine them to form new matrices. We will learn how to use operators to add, subtract,
multiply, and divide matrices, and we will learn that there are several different types of
multiplication and division. Finally, we will learn MATLAB’s rules for determining the
order in which operators are carried out when more than one of them appear in the same
expression.

Lesson 3: Functions

Functions let us break up(nos permiten dividir) complex problems into smaller, more
manageable parts. We will learn how functions let us create reusable software components
that can be applied in many different programs. We will learn how the environment inside a
function is separated from the outside via a well defined interface through which it
communicates with that outside world. We will learn how to define a function to allow
input to it when it initiates its execution and output from it when it is done.

Lesson 4: Programmer’s Toolbox

MATLAB has useful built-in functions and we will explore many of them in this section.
We will learn about polymorphism and how MATLAB exploits it to change a function's
behavior on the basis of the number and type of its inputs. Because random numbers play
an important role in computer programming, we will learn how to use the MATLAB
random number generator. We will learn how to get input from the keyboard, how to print
to the Command Window, and how to plot graphs in a Figure window. Finally, we will
learn how to find programming errors with the help of the debugger.

Lesson 5: Selection

Selection is the means by which MATLAB makes decisions about the order in which it
executes its statements. We will learn how to use the if-statement, which is the most
important method of selection. We will learn how to use relational operators and logical
operators. We will learn how to write polymorphic functions and how to make functions
resistant to error(resistentes al error).

Lesson 6: Loops

Loops give computers their power. We will learn how to use both of MATLAB's loop
constructs: the for-loop and the while-loop. We will learn how the break-statement works,
and we will use nested loops. We will learn how to make loops more efficient. We will
learn about logical indexing and will see how to use it to produce implicit loops that are
efficient and easy for a user to understand.

Lesson 7: Data Types

Computers operate on bits, but humans think in terms of numbers, words, and other types
of data. Like any good language, MATLAB organizes bits into convenient data types. We
will study those types in this section. We will learn that there are ten types of numbers and
that there are conversion functions to change one type into another. We will learn much
more about strings and how the characters in them are encoded as numbers. We will learn
how to produce heterogeneous collections of data via structs and cells.

Lesson 8: File Input/Output

Files are named areas in permanent memory for storing data that can be used as input or
output to MATLAB and to other programs. We will be introduced to MATLAB’s most
important methods for reading and writing files. We will learn how to create, read from,
and write into MAT-files, Excel files, text files, and binary files. We will learn how to
navigate among folders with MATLAB commands.
Introduction
From the ground up= desde cero//affair= cosa:asunto// cryptic= dificil de
descifrar//wave=ola//spring= surgir//trouble=s. dificultades// way to much =s.
demasiado//struggle= luchar// team up= asociarse //add=aumentar// be into =
gustar;interesado por // chances are = es muy probable //gain = aprovechar//there you go =
ahi lo tienes//way = adv . muy// regain = recuperar//hold down =mantener presionado//

To program a computer, you have to use a programming language. The first languages were
complicated affairs(cosas) of strings of ones and zeroes, or cryptic code words and
numbers(palabras y numeros en codigo criptico). And then in 1954, all that changed.
MATLAB's purpose was to make programming easier, especially for solving numerical
problems. MATLAB is far easier to program than FORTRAN.
The MATLAB programming environment window is also called a desktop . The generic
name for desktop is graphical user interface (GUI). Folder and directory are synonymous
names for the same thing. Prompt is a symbol or symbols printed by a program , matlab is
an example, to indicate that it's ready for input(para la entrada) from the user of the
program. if you ever need to regain control from MATLAB because it's taking too long to
process a command, and you can type control C that's done by holding down the control
key.
side effect=efecto secundario//out there= por ahi//stuck = atascado//

The generic name for tools like these, whether they are MATLAB Online or installed
MATLAB, or Excel, or Chrome, or Call of Duty World War II, is Graphical User Interface.
That blinking bar tells us that MATLB is ready to receive a command. And that pair of
greater than signs is MATLAB's prompt. A prompt is a symbol or symbols printed by a
program, MATLAB is an example,
to indicate it is ready for input from the user of the program.