MATLAB Fundamentals Training Course

Part 1

A Brief Introduction to MATLAB

Objectives: Provide an overview of MATLAB’s capabilities, composition, and potential benefits for your work

• Comparison Example: C vs. MATLAB
• Overview of the MATLAB product suite
• Fields of application for MATLAB
• What can MATLAB do for you?
• Course structure overview

Working with the MATLAB User Interface

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

• The MATLAB interface
• Reading data from files
• Saving and loading variables
• Plotting data
• Customising plots
• Calculating statistics and best-fit lines
• Exporting graphics for other applications

Variables and Expressions

Objective: Learn to enter MATLAB commands, focusing on creating and accessing data within variables.

• Entering commands
• Creating variables
• Accessing help documentation
• Accessing and modifying variable values
• Creating character variables

Analysis and Visualization with Vectors

Objective: Perform mathematical and statistical calculations using vectors and generate basic visualisations. Discover how MATLAB syntax allows for calculations across entire datasets with a single command.

• Vector calculations
• Plotting vectors
• Basic plot options
• Annotating plots

Analysis and Visualization with Matrices

Objective: Utilise matrices as mathematical objects or as collections of vector data. Understand the correct MATLAB syntax to distinguish between these applications.

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

Part 2

Automating Commands with Scripts

Objective: Organise MATLAB commands into scripts to facilitate reproduction and experimentation. As task complexity grows, executing long command sequences in the Command Window becomes inefficient.

• A modelling example
• Command History
• Creating script files
• Executing scripts
• Comments and Code Cells
• Publishing scripts

Working with Data Files

Objective: Import data into MATLAB from formatted files. Given the variety of data types and formats, emphasis is placed on handling cell arrays and date formats.

• Importing data
• Mixed data types
• Cell arrays
• Converting between numerals, strings, and cells
• Exporting data

Multiple Vector Plots

Objective: Create complex vector plots, including multiple subplots, and utilise colour and string manipulation techniques to produce compelling data representations.

• Graphics structure
• Multiple figures, axes, and plots
• Plotting equations
• Using colour
• Customising plots

Logic and Flow Control

Objective: Apply logical operations, variables, and indexing techniques to write flexible code capable of making decisions and adapting to varying conditions. Explore programming constructs for code repetition and user interaction.

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

Matrix and Image Visualization

Objective: Visualise images and matrix data in two or three dimensions. Explore the distinctions between displaying images and visualising matrix data using image techniques.

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

Part 3

Data Analysis

Objective: Perform standard data analysis tasks in MATLAB, including developing and fitting theoretical models to real-world data. This naturally leads to one of MATLAB’s most powerful features: solving linear systems of equations with a single command.

• Handling 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.

• The role of functions
• Creating functions
• Adding comments
• Calling subfunctions
• Workspaces
• Subfunctions
• Path and precedence

Data Types

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

• MATLAB data types
• Integers
• Structures
• Converting types

File I/O

Objective: Explore low-level data import and export functions in MATLAB that offer precise control over text and binary file I/O. This includes textscan, which allows for precise reading of text files.

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

Please note that the actual delivered content may differ slightly from the outline above without prior notification.

Conclusion

Please note that the actual delivered content may differ slightly from the outline above without prior notification.

Objectives: Summarise the key learning points

• A course summary
• Other upcoming MATLAB courses

Please note that the course may be subject to minor adjustments upon delivery without prior notification.