MATLAB Fundamentals Training Course

Part 1

A Brief Introduction to MATLAB

Objectives: Provide an overview of MATLAB, its components, and its capabilities

• An Example: C vs. MATLAB
• MATLAB Product Overview
• MATLAB Application Fields
• What MATLAB can do for you?
• The Course Outline

Working with the MATLAB User Interface

Objective: Introduce the main features of the MATLAB integrated design environment and its user interfaces. Provide an overview of course themes.

• MATALB Interface
• Reading data from file
• Saving and loading variables
• Plotting data
• Customizing plots
• Calculating statistics and best-fit line
• Exporting graphics for use in other applications

Va​riables and Expressions

Objective: Input MATLAB commands, focusing on creating and accessing data stored in variables.

• Entering commands
• Creating variables
• Getting help
• Accessing and modifying values in variables
• Creating character variables

Analysis and Visualization with Vectors

Objective: Perform mathematical and statistical operations on vectors and generate basic visualizations. Demonstrate how MATLAB syntax allows for calculations on entire datasets with a single command.

• Calculations with vectors
• Plotting vectors
• Basic plot options
• Annotating plots

Analysis and Visualization with Matrices

Objective: Utilize matrices as mathematical entities or as collections of (vector) data. Understand the correct use of MATLAB syntax to distinguish between these applications.

• Size and dimensionality
• Calculations with matrices
• Statistics with matrix data
• Plotting multiple columns
• Reshaping and linear indexing
• Multidimensional arrays

Part 2

Automating Commands with Scripts

Objective: Group MATLAB commands into scripts to facilitate reproduction and experimentation. As task complexity grows, inputting long sequences of commands in the Command Window becomes impractical.

• A Modelling Example
• The Command History
• Creating script files
• Running scripts
• Comments and Code Cells
• Publishing scripts

Working with Data Files

Objective: Import data from formatted files into MATLAB. Since imported data can vary widely in type and format, focus is placed on handling cell arrays and date formats.

• Importing data
• Mixed data types
• Cell arrays
• Conversions amongst numerals, strings, and cells
• Exporting data

Multiple Vector Plots

Objective: Create more complex vector plots, including multiple plots, and employ color and string manipulation techniques to generate visually appealing data representations.

• Graphics structure
• Multiple figures, axes, and plots
• Plotting equations
• Using color
• Customizing plots

Logic and Flow Control

Objective: Utilize logical operations, variables, and indexing techniques to write flexible code capable of making decisions and adapting to different scenarios. Investigate additional programming structures for repeating code sections and enabling user interaction.

• Logical operations and variables
• Logical indexing
• Programming constructs
• Flow control
• Loops

Matrix and Image Visualization

Objective: Visualize images and matrix data in two or three dimensions. Examine the distinctions between displaying images and visualizing matrix data using images.

• Scattered Interpolation using vector and matrix data
• 3-D matrix visualization
• 2-D matrix visualization
• Indexed images and colormaps
• True color images

Part 3

Data Analysis

Objective: Execute standard data analysis tasks in MATLAB, such as developing and fitting theoretical models to real-world data. This naturally progresses to one of MATLAB's most powerful capabilities: solving linear systems of equations with a single command.

• Dealing with missing data
• Correlation
• Smoothing
• Spectral analysis and FFTs
• Solving linear systems of equations

Writing Functions

Objective: Enhance automation by encapsulating modular tasks into user-defined functions. Understand how MATLAB resolves references to files and variables.

• Why functions?
• Creating functions
• Adding comments
• Calling subfunctions
• Workspaces
• Subfunctions
• Path and precedence

Data Types

Objective: Investigate data types, with a focus on the syntax for creating variables and accessing array elements, and discuss methods for converting between data types. Data types vary in the kind of data they can hold and how that data is structured.

• MATLAB data types
• Integers
• Structures
• Converting types

File I/O

Objective: Explore MATLAB's low-level data import and export functions, which allow precise control over text and binary file I/O. These functions include textscan, which offers precise control over reading text files.

• Opening and closing files
• Reading and writing text files
• Reading and writing binary files

Note that the actual content delivered may be subject to minor discrepancies from the outline above without prior notification.

Conclusion

Note that the actual content delivered may be subject to minor discrepancies from the outline above without prior notification.

Objectives: Summarise what we have learnt

• A summary of the course
• Other upcoming courses on MATLAB

Note that the course might be subject to few minor discrepancies when being delivered without prior notifications.