Matlab

Versions of Matlab

The current version is Matlab 7. That is the version installed in the Mathematics Computer Lab and in many offices. Older versions 5 and 6 are still around on Project Vincent.

To start Matlab 6 on Project Vincent, type

     % add matlab6
     % matlab

It doesn't really matter which version of Matlab you use, but you should stick with a single version on a single type of computer, if you can. The type of code typically used in Math courses is 99% portable between versions and machines, but not 100%.

A student version of Matlab is available at the bookstore for about $150. The student version is the same as the professional version, except it is much cheaper (and it uses a >>> prompt instead of >>).

How To Get Started

• Matlab Primer in Postscript or Adobe Acrobat format. This 39-page introduction was written for Matlab 3, but it still covers pretty much everything you need to write programs for a numerical analysis course. An up-to-date version of this primer is available as a small, inexpensive book from CRC Press.
• Online Tutorial from the Math Dept. at Southern Illinois University.
• Online Introduction by Mark Gockenbach.

Online Documentation

• Matlab 5.2 Help Desk (for Macintosh)
• Matlab 6.0 Help Desk (this link may only work from Project Vincent machines)
• Mathworks is the company that makes Matlab.
• Notes from a graduate student colloquium on Matlab and Its Relatives, Feb 8, 2006.