MATLAB is currently the language of technical computing most known and used in academia, industry and services. It is composed of a set of tools and a very large number of functions, graphics objects with associated properties and operators.

The book begins by looking at the main tools, in particular the Desktop, the Command and History Window, the Editor and the Help Browser. The selected number of functions, graphics objects, related properties and operators, considered fundamental in MATLAB, is a unique and remarkable feature of this book. These basic elements are minutely treated both formally and through examples.

The arrangement of every data type as an array is another prominent emphasis of the book. Numerical data used in advanced mathematics usually defined as vectors or matrices are only one example. Others include logical values, strings of characters, dates, images, etc.

Standard programming structures, like the many patterns of user functions and of the flow controls, are highlighted.

The basic elements of data visualization -- the main graphics objects and their properties -- are also carefully examined.

Contents:The Windows of the Desktop; A Preliminary Approach to Data and M-Files; Scripts and Functions as M-Files; Numerical Arrays; Other Types of Arrays; The Figure Window for Graphics Objects; Plot 2-D and Image; Flow Control; Appendices:; MATLAB Functions Categories; MATLAB Functions and Objects Properties; Operators List; A Table of Special Ascii Codes.