Course Objectives

1. To acquire facility in using the computer as a tool for solving mathematical problems.
2. To learn the fundamental concepts and techniques of procedural programming. These include: flow control, modular construction, elementary data structures and their array-based implementations, recursion, and graphics
3. To develop problem-solving and communication skills by solving programming projects.

Policies

1. Attendance is mandatory, and you will be responsible for all material covered in class. I reserve the right to drop anyone from the course who has more than three unexcused absences. Roll will be taken until I know all the students.
2. The grade will be based on: a collection of short exercises, approximately 8 projects, a midterm, and a final exam. As a general rule projects which are not completed on time will receive 90% if turned in within the next week, and 75% if turned in later than that. The final exam will be in an interview format and will review the results of the final project as well as your portfolio.
3. You will be required to keep a portfolio of your work. The portfolio should consist of paper and magnetic copies of each project. This should include source code, sample runs, and the results from any specified test cases. You should also include any written material documenting your design and development.

References

1. Mastering MatLab, by Duane Hanselman and Bruce Littlefield, Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1996. (Strongly Recommended)
2. MatLab User’s Guide, The MathWorks, 1993 (The bookstore also has student versions of MatLab which will run on your personal computer.)

Topics

1. The basic syntax of the MatLab language.
2. Flow control, plotting, and arrays.
3. Scripts, functions, arguments, and local variables.
4. Recursion, induction, and problem solving.
5. Graphs and trees.
6. Stacks, queues, priority queues, and sorting.
7. 3-D Wireframe graphics.